SATAN IS PERMITTED TO AFFLICT THE RIGHTEOUS aug 11

REF: Job 1:2

The Lord said to Satan, Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger. Then Satan went out of the presence of the Lord.

COMMENT: Satan had suggested to God that Job obeys Him because of wealth and protection provided to him by God. He went on to challenge God to remove both wealth and protection and Job would straight away curse Him openly.

God testifies about Job in verse 8 of chapter one of this book of Job that the man is blameless, upright, fears God and shuns evil. Job is exceptional in every way and there are few people like him if any. God Himself underlines this exceptional character.

Due to the confidence and trust God had in Job, He allowed Satan to test him but Job did not curse God. It is recorded that Job after receiving the bad news about deaths of all his children and perishing of all his animals, he said, “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised”. He blessed God instead of cursing Him. What a wise man, guided by the Holy Spirit, Job proved to be? The Holy Spirit did not force Job to act the way he did. Job must have sought the guidance from haven and got it. He did not depend on his wisdom as expected by the devil. He trusted God to pay him back what he had lost. He said to himself, if God is able to give in the first place, He can restore the lost and even give more and that is exactly what He did.

Job’s faith continued to grow even when his body was afflicted. He suffered bodily but did not give up. People around him including his own wife did not stand with him. His wife suggested that he curses God and die while his friends who came to see him accused him of secret sins.

I all these circumstances, Job did not give up or blame God. He knew wealth and even children were gifts from the Almighty. He decided to hold on the to the trust he had in God although he did not at all understand why he was suffering.

Out of the Job’s story, we clearly see that God in His wisdom may allow Satan to attack us for a good reason. The final outcome of the ordeal, Job was far better off than he was before the suffering. His faith was increased tremendously. His wealth was even more than it was at the beginning.

Please note that Job had not had a chance to read about himself as we do today. The bible had not been written when he went through all these sufferings. No other Job had existed before him that he would have read his story.

PRAYER: Holy Spirit! Show us the way out of suffering and remind us to give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for us. 1 Thessalonians 5:18