‘The trouble the Lord had brought on him.’ Job 42:11 NCV
Satan’s attack can strengthen your faith. The devil dared to question the stability of Job’s faith, so God gave him permission to test Job. ‘The Lord said to Satan, “All right then. Everything Job has is in your power, but you must not touch Job himself.”’ (Job 1:12 NCV) Notice, God set both the permission and the parameters of the struggle. Job passes the test and Satan complains that Job would have fallen had he been forced to face pain. Again, God gives permission, and again He sets the parameters: ‘Job is in your power, but you may not take his life.’ (Job 2:6 NCV) Though the pain and the questions are abundant, in the end Job’s faith and health are greater than ever. Again, we may not understand the reason for the test, but we know its source.
Read this verse from the last chapter of the book of Job. The family of Job ‘comforted him and made him feel better about the trouble the Lord had brought on him.’ Satan has no power except that which God gives him. Even when Satan appears to win, he loses. Martin Luther was right on target when he described the devil as God’s tool, a hoe He uses to care for His garden. The hoe never cuts what the Gardener intends to save, and never saves what the Gardener intends to weed. Surely a part of Satan’s punishment is the frustration he feels in unwillingly serving as a tool to create a garden for God. So be encouraged today: Satan’s attack will strengthen your faith, refine it, and take it to greater heights.
Soul Food: Zech 12–14, Mark 14:43–52, Ps 54, Prov 25:1–3
The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright 2024
