Faith THE MAN WHO WOULD NOT DOUBT GOD
The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord. Job 1:21.
Satan was sure that the only reason Job was serving God was because of God's protection and blessing. God saw fit to give Satan permission to try to prove his point. He hurried from the presence of the Lord, and destroyed all of Job's property.
Job misunderstood. He thought it was God who had taken away everything that he had. But in spite of his misunderstanding, he still maintained his trust in God. Satan secured permission to afflict Job further, by bringing pain and sickness to him. But still Job maintained his integrity.
Mrs. Job, however, did not. Job lost everything he had except his wife, and perhaps she should have been the first to go! But the devil knew that she would be a useful tool in his hands. As soon as he got Mrs. Job, he must have smiled, and reminded his evil angels that if they kept at it, they would surely get Job as well.
Satan doesn't care what he causes us to do or not do, as long as we are self-centered. Often he gloats not so much over what we do wrong as over what we don't do wrong through our own strength. He evidently arbitrarily chooses to leave some people in luxury while he pushes others into the gutter. He gets just as much mileage out of a Pharisee as out of a demoniac. A person can be just as lost while glorying in his success as while wallowing in his failures. The one thing that causes Satan deep concern is when a person chooses to come into fellowship and communion with God, for he knows that that is what will vanquish him.
When a person becomes interested in knowing God, Satan shakes his fist at God and makes the same charge he did with Job. Sometimes the Lord sees fit to allow him to try us--to prove whether or not our seeking of Him is prompted by selfish motives, or whether we will love and trust God regardless of circumstances. This is the reason why things often seem to go worse, for a time, when we begin to seek a meaningful relationship with God. If we understand this, we will continue our communication with God, continue to trust Him no matter what happens, and then Satan is defeated.
The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord. Job 1:21.
Satan was sure that the only reason Job was serving God was because of God's protection and blessing. God saw fit to give Satan permission to try to prove his point. He hurried from the presence of the Lord, and destroyed all of Job's property.
Job misunderstood. He thought it was God who had taken away everything that he had. But in spite of his misunderstanding, he still maintained his trust in God. Satan secured permission to afflict Job further, by bringing pain and sickness to him. But still Job maintained his integrity.
Mrs. Job, however, did not. Job lost everything he had except his wife, and perhaps she should have been the first to go! But the devil knew that she would be a useful tool in his hands. As soon as he got Mrs. Job, he must have smiled, and reminded his evil angels that if they kept at it, they would surely get Job as well.
Satan doesn't care what he causes us to do or not do, as long as we are self-centered. Often he gloats not so much over what we do wrong as over what we don't do wrong through our own strength. He evidently arbitrarily chooses to leave some people in luxury while he pushes others into the gutter. He gets just as much mileage out of a Pharisee as out of a demoniac. A person can be just as lost while glorying in his success as while wallowing in his failures. The one thing that causes Satan deep concern is when a person chooses to come into fellowship and communion with God, for he knows that that is what will vanquish him.
When a person becomes interested in knowing God, Satan shakes his fist at God and makes the same charge he did with Job. Sometimes the Lord sees fit to allow him to try us--to prove whether or not our seeking of Him is prompted by selfish motives, or whether we will love and trust God regardless of circumstances. This is the reason why things often seem to go worse, for a time, when we begin to seek a meaningful relationship with God. If we understand this, we will continue our communication with God, continue to trust Him no matter what happens, and then Satan is defeated.
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