Then the Lord asked satan, “Have you noticed my servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth - a man of complete integrity. He fears God and will have nothing to do with evil.”
Satan replied to the Lord, “Yes, Job fears God, but not without good reason! You have always protected him and his home and his property from harm. You have made him prosperous in everything he does. Look how rich he is! But take away everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face!”
“All right, you may test him,” the Lord said to satan. “Do whatever you want with everything he possess, but don’t harm him physically.”
Job 1:8-12
A few weeks ago I was reading Job with my son, and when we got to this conversation between God and satan, I was expecting questions. Even I wanted to question why God would allow satan to take everything and everyone dear to Job so I was expecting hard questions from my son and wondering what on earth I was going to say. His comment blew me away, “ why wouldn’t God make that deal with satan?” If God knows everything that happens to us, if He knows the future and the outcome to our situations and how we are going to handle circumstances in our life then whey wouldn’t he make that deal? In my son’s eyes it was a no brainer.....if God knew that Job would stay faithful during satan’s “testing” then God would win that bet! Immediately a light bulb went off in my mind and I saw a whole new perspective on what God will allow in our lives.
Satan does have boundaries and in many cases He has to ask permission to test us. It’s refreshing to know that satan’s power is limited. What’s even better is that God knows our hearts and our thoughts and he knows how we will handle the situations thrown our way.
The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted He will show yo a way out so that you can endure.
1 Corinthians 10:13
When we read Job is sounds as if his circumstance was too much to bear first his possessions and his family, then his health. God allowed satan to take everything but Job’s life! (Job 2). How could this not be more than he could stand? But God knew how Job would respond. God knew that Job would stay faithful. Was it easy for Job? Not at all, he was angry and in great suffering. Job did not like what was happening but he accepted it and he stayed true to God. He never once blamed God or gave up on God. As desperate as he sounded, at times, Job continued to respect and fear God. He trusted God.
Are you going through a Job moment right now? Are you suffering through a difficult circumstance that seems like it will never end, like it just gets worse or as if God isn’t there? Remember Job’s story and God’s conversation with satan. God won’t allow you to suffer more than you can withstand. He knows your strength and your faith and He won’t make a deal that He can’t win. If you are going through a tough situation find comfort knowing that God knows something you don’t know. He trusts you with your circumstance and knows the outcome. When His name is on the line, you better believe He will follow through!
Dear God, I feel like Job right now. Things are coming at me left and right and at times I just don’t know if I can handle it. But You trust in me. With You my strength is endless and I can make it through this problem. I will stay true to You and my faith will not waiver because I trust that You know the outcome and You promise that I am ready for this journey. I praise you God for the things unseen! I praise You for knowing everything about me and allowing satan to test me to grow in my faith and my relationship with You. Calm my fears as I ride out this storm. I trust You My God! I trust You!
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