Sifted

The sifter in this photo came from the cellar of my grandfather’s house in Alabama. I was there a few weeks ago excavating family history and getting lost in a time that’s nearly forgotten. In a cobwebbed corner beneath a window, I saw the sifter and something deep within me knew very well the hands that made and used this primitive device. As I reached for it, I felt the temperature begin to rise in the room and a sensation that a discovery had finally been made. I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to know, so I casually asked my grandfather about it and he simply shrugged and said he made it and used it decades ago. I took it home and gently cleaned off some of the debris that entangled this precious treasure. Then I gathered flowers my daughters picked and dried and tied them to the screen.

Two nights ago I had a dream about this sifter coming up from hearts and on the screen was gray sludge. I kept watching to see what would emerge from the wet, murky substance that was pulled up, but it stayed there slowly dripping from underneath. Then, I heard the Father say, “I’m removing the illegal access the enemy was given to the innermost parts of you.” And in a quick moment, faces and words, and dates and times surfaced in my memory. The injustice behind heart wounds and the whisper of lies in the hallways of my soul became very clear. As the sifter was pushed down and lifted again, I felt many open places inside of my body close up as a great cleansing occurred and the damage was now sitting exposed on the top of the sifting screen.

I believe this dream is happening in the hearts of many sons and daughters of God. There are places that have been invaded by darkness and lies that must be silenced. Permission was given somewhere along the way in our weakest hours and now those doors are being closed by the loving hand of our Father in Heaven. There is a pressure upon us to be pushed down, but also to be lifted higher by Jesus. We’ve been given a glorious invitation to leave behind what was sent to destroy us and walk into new heights with the One who came to secure life everlasting.

I’m in prayer for the sifting screens that are rising up right now. I’m crying out with my own “yes” for you that as you see what’s been purified, you exhale with gratitude and turn away from things of the past.

The Sifter’s hands are using tools that have lasted the test of time and have revealed divine destiny in the lives of those who desire to know more of His ways and His enduring love.