Overcoming by Faith

The phrase overcoming by faith is used a lot in Christian circles. Many times, it is because of our faith that we come out of a trial. The woman with the bleeding problem believed touching the hem of Jesus’ robe would heal her. Sure enough, it did.

But what about those times where it looks like failure? Peter failed by denying he knew Jesus three times. However, there is more to the story. We have to go to earlier in the night while they are still enjoying a meal in the upper room. Jesus drops the following bomb shell.

And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you like wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail, and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.” - Luke 22-31-32 NKJV.

Jesus announces that Satan wants to get his hands on Simon to shake up his life to see if he fails. In a way, he did, and if it was only his faith that could save him, he would have lost. However, Jesus prayed for Simon, knowing that the denial would happen and He would not stop it. He knew Simon would be back as Peter, the rock.

Something had to happen so that Simon could truly stand up as his new self in Christ and be the rock that Jesus would build his church on. Peter’s faith did not fail, but the testing broke things Jesus planned to repair. If that hadn’t happened, Peter would not have come out the other side with the ability to give such a stirring speech on Pentecost that brought three thousand into believing in Christ.

The greater the calling God is putting on us, the more likely sifting will occur to prepare us for it. There are parts of ourselves that need breaking so that Jesus can repair them into what we will need. However the sifting happens know that Jesus is in control. Even if Satan is in the process, he is only going as far as he is allowed.

Job is a great example of this. Satan wanted to test what Job was made of if God would remove the hedge around Job. Job got sifted to the point of having nothing but his life and his faith in God. Satan so hoped to break that faith. Job never stopped believing in God in all of his confusion. He asked a lot of why questions and made a lot of assumptions. He shared his heart with God. We can do the same and at the right time God will show up with an answer. It won’t always be what we want to hear. It will be exactly what we need in order to move from broken to repaired by God. After this, Job was restored stronger than he ever was before with greater blessing.

Like Job, things will happen that we don’t understand. We’ll lose things, money, health, and people during a sifting. We may see some walk away when we come out the other side of it. These siftings always pivot our life to a new path. When we come out the other side of a sifting, people will see God’s glory in it. Much like Peter’s Pentacost speech, God worked through the process.

The truth of overcoming faith comes down to knowing that God is always for us and Jesus will pray for us. We know trials will come. Things will break, but not beyond what God allows. The tests that break us will lead to strengthening that God can use.

I still have trials going on. Some have lasted years, while others have been overcome. However, without these, I would not have made it to where I am now. I would not have fantasy stories that help people relate to Jesus. Years of blogging about my Christian walk would not have grown into what you see today on this Substack. I don’t know what trials will come next or what they will strengthen me for. All I know is that when I obey Jesus so I am doing things His way, great things happen. I’m in a season of wondering what is next, but I know what I am to do right now.

Life is full of trials mixed with joy when you walk with Jesus. You may have tried everything you know of in your own power to overcome or found that you put your trust in things that did not withstand the sifting. It is never too late to pivot and put your faith in Jesus, who overcame even death for us.