August 29, 2005……. Katrina has just made landfall….no one really knows the extent of damage that will be left in her path of destruction…. With her she brings high winds, raging water, and an eerie “unknown”. 

August 30, 2005…… it’s the morning after….everywhere you look, as far as the eye can see, devastation…..the “unknown” has now become a reality that will be with America for years to come….. 

As I now join the many others around the world, watching the events unfold, I am witnessing this disaster that is now so painfully written in my mind and on my heart…I see frightened children; I see the elderly; I see the sick and the cripple… . 

I see those who enjoyed simple luxuries just a week ago…those who have awakened to find themselves now homeless….no electricity, no water, no home, no job, and the list of “no’s” goes on and on….. All the things that are taken for granted on a daily basis have now become, shall we say, a “thing of the past”, or at least for now it is…. 

With all of this in mind, I can not help but to find my way to scripture… Already I’m hearing folks say, “why me?”, “why this?”, “why God?” 

I find great comfort in Luke 22:31 and 32....“Simon, Simon, satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith will not fail…..” 

Here we see that satan has come to Jesus and has "demanded permission" to sift Simon Peter like wheat. This is how I see all these things that are happening now, in our personal lives and in the lives of other believers...we are being "sifted"......pressed "through" tiny holes....squashed, bruised, battered, cut, and yes, sometimes bleeding, but sifted nonetheless... 

Where’s the blessing in all of this? Where’s our hope? Where is there something the least bit positive? 

Read on….. Jesus speaking says, “….but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail…” 

My friend….it just doesn’t get any better than that! Jesus….God Who came in the flesh, has and IS praying for you, and for me…Why? So that our faith will not fail…and when we come through the sifter, we will be stronger than ever before….. 

When will the sifting end? I can’t answer that one, but I do know that I for one am blessed for having gone through each sifter in my life. 

Therefore, as we all share in this current “sifting”, let us lay hold of and claim the promise that Jesus IS praying….. 

Lord Jesus, I thank You so much for the sifter…..I thank You that while I am ”in” the sifter, You are praying for me….giving me the strength that I need and the encouragement to see it through. As well, with this in mind, I now pray for those people that are experiencing the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina….allow them to understand that You “are” there and allow them the strength to reach up to You… While understanding does not always come, I’m asking that acceptance does.. In Jesus’ Name….Amen