Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Eph. 6:11.
Often a person who begins a relationship with God will find that things go worse, for a time, than they did before he began. And he wonders what is wrong. We can learn from the experience of Job that Satan is the one responsible, and that God permits him to work his will for a while in order to prove to God, to Satan, and to ourselves whether or not Satan's charge that we are seeking God for selfish reasons is correct.
Satan says to God, "You see that person there, seeking You? He' only interested in himself. He wants to get to heaven, and get over his problem, and he wants that peace that he hears others talk about. He wants victory over his sins, and to get rid of his ulcers. He's not seeking You because he loves You--he's seeking You because of what he can get from You." It's the same charge the devil made against Job.
Satan comes at us with all guns blazing. It's Job, Part II. All four tires go flat on the car on the same day. There's physical trouble. Perhaps you live a worse life than before. Suddenly you fail over things you though you had the victory over long ago. What do you do? Do you say, "This relationship with God doesn't work--tomorrow morning I'll sleep in"?
So the next morning you do sleep in. Guess what happens? You have a good day. The air goes back into the tires! Your troubles seem to be over. At the end of the day you congratulate yourself on what a fine life you lived that day. And the devil and his angels have a laugh-in. They don't care what you do or don't do as long as they can keep you from your knees.
Well, you would think that when this happens, the devil would be smart enough to leave it at that. And he does, for a short time. He may leave us alone for a couple of weeks, even though he has us because we're not seeking God. But then he comes and brings trouble again--just for the fun of it this time. And it drives us to our knees!
What is the secret in the story of Job? When Job proved before the universe that he was serving God not for selfish reasons, but because he loved God, and that he would trust Him regardless, then God could come in with His blessings and cause the devil to flee.