DOES GOD TEST US?

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”

“Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied.  “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.”

The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.”

Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.

Job 1:8-12

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

One thing is sure about life if you live enough of it. You are sure to face hardship at some time or another. Often when these times come for believers, they are usually quick to fall on their knees before God and pray for a resolution to their problems, yearning for better days to return.

But what if God is testing us? Do we ever consider this…that in the midst of our difficulties, God is testing our faith, our resolve, our perseverance, or our trust in Him? Or maybe, God wants to show Satan that no matter how hard he tries to turn us from our Master, he will be unable to do so. I’m sure nothing delights the Lord more than frustrating the devil.

We get a sense that some or all of this is going on in our passage from the 1^st Chapter of Job. The Lord asks Satan if he had ever considered His servant Job…a man God distinguished by saying there was “no one on earth like him”. The Lord further described him as being God-fearing, blameless, upright, and a man who would shun evil.

Then Satan gets sly as only he can. Notice his quick move to discredit Job. The assertion is that Job has had everything go his way in life. He has not had to suffer any hardship and is very well off. What does he have to be afraid of?

And so it’s little wonder Job can be talked about in such lofty ways. This is Satan’s point. He hasn’t gone through any hardship. He had reaped the bounty of God’s blessings and Satan went as far to claim that God Himself had done this…that God had “put a hedge around” His servant and “everything he has”, preventing difficulty from happening.

Surely, Job would not be so upright and blameless if he suffered. Satan was sure of it.

In fact, Satan was so sure about it that He challenged God to bring calamity on Job, taking away everything he had. This, Satan believed, would change Job’s attitude drastically. The man who was once faithful to God would change and curse Him to His face.

The dare was on. For God gave Job and everything he had over to Satan and his power. Satan had free reign except for laying a finger on Job himself. In other words, Satan couldn’t kill Job…but he could make him suffer. And he would more than do that as we will soon see.

Could this same scene play out for you or me?

It’s definitely possible. If the Lord did it to Job, He could choose to do it to anyone. After all, He is God.

But maybe the question shouldn’t be whether God would test us but rather, are we ready for it when He does? Are we prepared to trust Him in all circumstances, good and bad? Are we ready to deny Satan and his power, relying instead on God’s almighty power to help us through?

This is why the Book of Job is so critically important to study. For as we’ll see, Job went through more calamity in just a short period of time than we’ll go through for a lifetime. And yet, through it all, Job remained steadfast in his faith and loyalty to God.

Friends, we can only hope to do likewise when God tests us. For it’s not a question of whether God tests us, but rather a question of when will He test us. Every day is a day of preparation for that time when it comes. We should do so, studying God’s word and cementing our relationship with Him in prayer.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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