God Won't Waste Your Story | Mornings with Mico

Good people. What's going on? My name is Miko and welcome to my one-on-one time with God. Today we are still taking a look at Peter's life and just through his experience with being sifted as it talks about in Luke 22. We aren't going to necessarily dive in Luke today though. I'm reminded of another scripture actually that relates to Peter's experience. It's in Romans 8, 28. Really quick. It says, and we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. And thinking about that scripture, some of you probably are familiar with that. It's one of those ones that gets, you know, a lot of airplay in different Christian circles and even secular circles. But it's this passage. When we see Peter's story through this passage, it just really, it just adds a lot of color to this passage. We see Peter on the other side of the sifting, just come out completely different as you read throughout the rest of the New Testament. Still an imperfect man, still human, but stronger and with more humility. I'm reminded of that song in Nipsey Hussle say, you know, double up, never let a hard time humble us. And every time I hear that, if I'm honest, like I kind of cringe because I'm like, but what if that was God's intention, right? What if he wanted to use the hard time, the sifting, the, the, the, the season of pressure to actually grow you in humility, to grow you more dependent on him instead of, you know, you know, and uprooting your dependence, you know, in self. I think eventually as you see throughout scripture in the New Testament, Peter, the same Peter on the other side of the sifting is boldly preaching Jesus in public anywhere, doesn't matter. And, and, um, just no thought to consequence. He was, um, just one of those, you know, like, I mean, he's written, you know, throughout the New Testament and you see this shift in him. If you're familiar with his story, you see this shift happen and his boldness on the other side of the sifting, naturally you would ask yourself like, okay, you know, kind of taking a step back, looking at this, like what changed, what happened in him? And I think that as we look at his life and we see, you know, his restoration and how Jesus, you know, recommissioned him publicly, I think we can draw from that, that, that clearly like the sifting broke him in his self-reliance, his failure, it actually deepened his roots and dependence on God. The restoration, it actually anchored his identity more so in grace instead of performance and self-righteousness. And that's, that's even today, that's often how God works. The enemy intended to break

Peter, but God, he used that process to build him right to, to build him in a more refined way. Throughout scripture, from the old Testament to the new Testament, we see this pattern with Job, with Peter, with Jesus in the wilderness, the enemy, he may initiate the attack, but time after time, God establishes the limits. Satan doesn't get to possess like this unlimited authority. The sifting has boundaries and it has limitations. And God already determined it would serve a greater purpose. Otherwise he probably wouldn't have allowed it, right? Whatever that looks like in your life, the sifting, the, the, the season of ambiguity, that's a phrase I always use because when I've gone through some of those seasons and it's like, God, I really don't know what's going on. It just, life just feels very ambiguous, right? Like God, he, in his perfect wisdom, like he has a greater purpose in it. I think that what you can see is like, Peter thought that the sifting would be the end of his story. When you look at it, you know, and, and see, you know, how even after, um, he had denied Jesus those three times. And then he went and cried when Jesus finds him again, he went back to fishing where Jesus found him initially. You know what I'm saying? He went back to the life he knew, but Jesus had already saw the restoration on the other side. He already knew that that would happen. And he already knew where he would find him. And he already knew that the restoration would happen. Romans 8 28, it says that God's God works all things together for the good of those who love him. He doesn't say some things He doesn't say most things he says all things Even the painful seasons the failures even the battles that you never would have chosen for yourself God uses all of those things, right? For the good of those who he loves and who he's called the enemy had a plan for Peter's destruction Jesus he had a plan for Peter's formation And the same is true for us like that doesn't That doesn't stop in scripture, it's actually just used as a framework for us to kind of have understanding of how You know God still operates with us today that even in our lowest seasons even in our Sifting even whatever we're dealing with let God he has a plan for there are limitations that are set for it

there's a end date and you know a begin date in the end date and This is the way that God operates with us. We use the scripture to make to help us to understand what it is That we're experiencing. I think that caveat to What happens on the other side of that sifting though is? surrender If surrendered to God then these hard seasons of your life can become places of growth It can grow you independence it can grow your wisdom it can grow you in compassion and it becomes a testimony a testimony that you've lived through but then also that is used to Impact others the word tells us in Revelation that we overcome by the blood of the lamb and word of our testimony So what it is that you're going through like there are people there's an audience That God is fully aware of that. He's already he already has in mind. It's gonna be inspired by your story I even to take it as far as like the people That we see in scripture I think it's easy to See them as fictional characters and not realizing like these people didn't know The impact that their stories would have thousands of years later. Joe didn't know that David didn't know that Peter didn't know that right like but their story that they went through that they lived through Was documented and preserved in a way for us to be able to reference it and have a clear understanding of how This walk is called to be how God actually shows up. It helps us to Understand that much more about God and just the same way that God uses these testimonies in scripture He's using our testimonies. You have a testimony and there are people who God has assigned to your testimony there are people who God knows that that they're going to need to hear your testimony in order to get to where he's calling them to And to take on that perspective Even now and as you're going through it, I'll be honest like that that can be difficult but as We continue to grow and surrender and choose and pray something that you'll often hear me say pray Lord Give me your perspective and all that I'm dealing with. Give me your perspective believe in his grace That role becomes a bit easier to pivot to seeing it according to his will and his plan and

The purpose of the season you're going through in your testimony and how that's going to impact others This is walk isn't simply about us God doesn't waste anything We surrender to him We grow through it, but then he also uses it as a case study So to say for others for others to know and understand For him to reveal himself to them for people to be inspired for it to grow us in our faith That's a story we get to be a part of that's the way he operates I hope that encourages you. I hope that helps add some Some color To maybe a season you're going through or season you've gone through or a season that you see someone else going through Your one-on-one time with God today, man Want to leave you with this? For you to sit with God and ask me or you you self-reflect. What part of your story? Do you need to surrender back to God today? What part of your story are you still seeing it through your perspective are you still allowing your failure or your shame or your guilt to Outweigh or Obscure The perspective that God would have you to have about Your shortcomings your failures, whatever it is, what part do you need to surrender back to God? I pray for us. Lord, we just thank you, Lord, that you see the end from the beginning. Thank you, Lord, that we don't have to figure this whole thing out along the way, but that we can trust that your word is true and that everything that we experience, you waste none of it. And like your word says, you will use all of it for the good of those who are called according to your will. So, Lord, we surrender our lives as we surrender our perspectives and every aspect of it. We ask that your will be done. Proud of you in your son, Jesus name. Amen.