"And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?
Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?
Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.
But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face."
Job 1:8-11
This is part of the beginning of the story of Job, and it is an interesting argument that Satan makes here. I have no idea if this was a literal conversation or if it is symbolic, but either way, the lesson seems pretty clear. Satan claims that Job (symbolically all of us) only worships God out of self-interest, and that he will stop worshiping if his life falls apart... which it proceeds to do.
[Spoiler alert if you haven't read it: Job has a hard time when his life falls apart, but he makes it through the trouble still holding fast to his integrity (Job 27:5-6, 42:1-6).]
I think the real question though is can we do the same? We're all going to be tested, not for God to see where our hearts lie, because he knows already, but to teach *us* where our hearts lie, and to give us a chance to change them if needed. Hopefully we won't be tested as Job was tested, losing everything all at once, but we all will be tested in a way that is really hard for us, and have to go through our "fiery trials" (1 Peter 4:12).
Will we react as Satan predicts, and fall into his hands, or will we stick with God, and get through the trials, and trust him to help us through the mists of darkness and the storms of life and find our way to the eternal light and love that he offers us?
Today, let's not let Satan be right about us. Let's throw off his shackles and plead unto God for his help in getting through our trials. Let's be like Job and have the faith to endure our trials, and correct our mistakes, and to be humble and repentant and trust in the Lord, no matter our circumstances.
Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?
Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.
But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face."
Job 1:8-11
This is part of the beginning of the story of Job, and it is an interesting argument that Satan makes here. I have no idea if this was a literal conversation or if it is symbolic, but either way, the lesson seems pretty clear. Satan claims that Job (symbolically all of us) only worships God out of self-interest, and that he will stop worshiping if his life falls apart... which it proceeds to do.
[Spoiler alert if you haven't read it: Job has a hard time when his life falls apart, but he makes it through the trouble still holding fast to his integrity (Job 27:5-6, 42:1-6).]
I think the real question though is can we do the same? We're all going to be tested, not for God to see where our hearts lie, because he knows already, but to teach *us* where our hearts lie, and to give us a chance to change them if needed. Hopefully we won't be tested as Job was tested, losing everything all at once, but we all will be tested in a way that is really hard for us, and have to go through our "fiery trials" (1 Peter 4:12).
Will we react as Satan predicts, and fall into his hands, or will we stick with God, and get through the trials, and trust him to help us through the mists of darkness and the storms of life and find our way to the eternal light and love that he offers us?
Today, let's not let Satan be right about us. Let's throw off his shackles and plead unto God for his help in getting through our trials. Let's be like Job and have the faith to endure our trials, and correct our mistakes, and to be humble and repentant and trust in the Lord, no matter our circumstances.
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