One day the members of the heavenly court came to present themselves before the Lord, and the Accuser, Satan, came with them. ‘Where have you come from?’ the Lord asked Satan. Satan answered the Lord, ‘I have been patrolling the earth, watching everything that’s going on.’ Then the Lord asked Satan, ‘Have you noticed my servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth. He is blameless—a man of complete integrity. He fears God and stays away from evil.’
—Job 1:6–8
Scripture:
In this week’s devotions, we’re going to tackle some difficult questions that believers have for God. And we’re going to start with one of the most frequently asked: Why does God allow the devil to do evil against us? This question comes into sharp focus in the Old Testament story of Job.
“One day the members of the heavenly court came to present themselves before the Lord, and the Accuser, Satan, came with them. ‘Where have you come from?’ the Lord asked Satan. Satan answered the Lord, ‘I have been patrolling the earth, watching everything that’s going on’” (Job 1:6–7 NLT).
What a perfect description of Satan—just roaming about like a lion, checking things out, looking for prey.
“Then the Lord asked Satan, ‘Have you noticed my servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth. He is blameless—a man of complete integrity. He fears God and stays away from evil’” (verse 8 NLT).
The devil is less than impressed with God’s paragon of righteousness. Loosely paraphrased, the devil replies, “Give me a break! Does Job fear You for nothing? He fears You because You are protecting him.”
The devil wanted to attack Job, but he recognized that God had placed His divine protection around Job. God has placed His divine protection around us as well. When the devil comes after us, he first must get permission from God. He cannot just wreak maximum destruction in our lives at will. He is restrained by God. He must stay within certain parameters. As believers, we need to understand that whatever God allows in our lives, He allows for a reason.
He doesn’t always reveal to us the reason, but we can trust that there is one. We can trust that He ultimately will be glorified by what He allows. We can trust that we will grow from it or be refined by it—that our faith will become stronger or purer as a result. And we can trust that God will never allow a temptation to be more than we can handle. He will show us a way out so that we can endure (see 1 Corinthians 10:13).
If we stay faithful to God when the devil attacks, as Job did, He will reward us. Sometimes those rewards will be tangible. Sometimes they will be spiritual, such as a deeper relationship with the Lord or an opportunity to share our faith with someone who wasn’t receptive before.
God doesn’t promise us a trouble-free existence. He doesn’t promise that we will understand everything He does—or allows. But He does promise to stay with us every step of the way.
Reflection question: When have you felt as though Satan was attacking you? Discuss this with believers like you on Harvest Discipleship!
