The Winnowing Fork in the Hand of God
Matthew 3:12
“And His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor, and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
A Divine Revelation
The enemy (Satan) is just a winnowing fork in the hand of God to divide the chaff from the wheat. A tool used to reveal the true heart of every man. The temptations Satan uses to expose our weaknesses are evidence of what has remained unchanged by God within us. These areas of weakness such as pride, lust, lack of self-control or discipline, idolatry, and many more are hard to see until we sin. Though God would never tempt us to sin, He allows what Satan uses to tempt our flesh to reveal what is in our heart that is resistant to His authority and in direct defiance to His Word. So often we get angry when we realize we are under spiritual attack by the enemy because he preys upon our vulnerabilities and his lies cut into us like a knife. However, if we could learn to see him from God’s perspective, our lives would be challenged to embrace those same painful attacks as a needful thing used by God to weed out all that is within us that does not glorify Him, all that is self-centered instead of God-centered, all that is self-sufficient instead of God-dependent, all that hinders us from total and complete submission to His will and keeps us from loving the Lord with all our heart, with all our mind, with all our soul, with all our strength.
A Divine Challenge
I Corinthians 10:13
“No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” Embracing hardships and times of testing expose our flesh and create a greater dependency on God.
Call to Action
If God, the Almighty has the confidence in your ability to handle the tests that Satan sends your way “no temptation has seized you except what is common to man.” He will also keep temptation from destroying you or “tempt you beyond what you can bear.” He will use them to make you stronger in your faith and knowledge of Him and He will “always provide a way of escape that you will be able to endure it.” So beloved, do not fear what the enemy can do, embrace it, learn from it, and let God change you as a result of it.
Father, when temptation comes, help us not to give into our flesh but take the way of escape that You have provided and say no to sin. In Christ, we are able to endure whatever hardship or trial comes our way and be victorious in it. Holy Spirit help us to deny our flesh, pick up our cross, and follow Jesus no matter what! In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen!