Job 1:1-12 (NASB)
1 There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job;
and that man was blameless, upright, fearing God and turning
away from evil. 2 Seven sons and three daughters
were born to him. 3 His possessions also were 7,000
sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and very many
servants; and that man was the greatest of all the men of the east. 4 His
sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one on his day, and they
would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 When
the days of feasting had completed their cycle, Job would send and consecrate
them, rising up early in the morning and offering burnt offerings according to the number of them
all; for Job said, “Perhaps my sons have sinned and cursed God in their
hearts.” Thus Job did continually.
6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present
themselves before the Lord,
and Satan also came among them. 7 The Lord said to Satan, “From where do
you come?” Then Satan answered the Lord and
said, “From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.” 8 The Lord said to Satan, “Have
you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the
earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from
evil.” 9 Then Satan answered the Lord, “Does Job fear God for
nothing? 10 Have You not made a hedge about him and
his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of
his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11 But
put forth Your hand now and touch all that he has; he will surely curse
You to Your face.” 12 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all
that he has is in your power, only do not put forth your hand on him.” So Satan
departed from the presence of the Lord.
The fallen angel, Satan, wants failure for
humanity. He wants us to become depraved of mind, body and soul, and he
especially wants us to turn our backs on God, our Creator. Satan is the
embodiment of evil, and he is the one that inflicts the terrible things that
happen to us. He wants to undermine our faith, and cause us to stumble or turn
away from God’s love and grace.
God doesn’t want
us to fail, nor does He make bad things happen to us. He allows Satan to play
his role, which in turn allows our faith in God the Father to grow or to
crumble.
Do you find it
challenging to have unwavering faith in God when you are faced with a difficult
time? Or is it more difficult when everything is going well? Rather, do you
kind of ‘forget’ about God and His role in your life when things are going
well?
God desires a relationship with us, through good
times and bad. I think that is shown by His obvious Fatherly pride in Job. He
is so proud, kind of like a father whose son ran into the end-zone during the
last seconds of the game to win for the home team. The Lord said to
Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like
him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and
turning away from evil.”
Kind of makes you wonder what He says about you,
huh? There are SO many days that I just know He is disappointed in me... for
the decisions I have made or my reaction to something going on or the words
that came out of my mouth. I am so thankful He still loves me, even when I screw
something up.
God still loved Job, even when his faith was
wavering after the terrible loss of his family, his riches and his health. He
knew he did not sin to bring on the calamities, and he believed God was not
punishing him.
Perseverance brings reward.
