Job 1 verse 1-12:
In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. He had seven sons and three daughters, and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East.
His sons used to hold feasts in their homes on their birthdays, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would make arrangements for them to be purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular custom. One day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them. The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?”
Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.” 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.
Wow! To me this is very deep and this is also very informative about the things that happen in the spiritual realm that we don't know about. Sometimes we don't know why evil things suddenly happen to us even when we are doing everything good, we are trying our best to be in the right standing with God. Honouring Him with our lives, with our tithes, with our offerings, being faithful to our spouses, honouring our parents, extending love and kindness to others then boom from nowhere things just turn upside down.
Have you ever considered that there could be a conversation going on between God and the devil? God already knows your works and your faithfulness and He is boasting about you to the devil. The devil also knows your works and all the details about you and your faithfulness and he's out to destroy you and put God to shame.
There is a battle for you in the spiritual realm. God needs a man he can count on and the devil also wants a man to destroy. The question is will you pass the test when the devil has been permitted to come and sift you? Will you prove yourself faithful to God like Job?. That's when many of us fail. When tribulations and trials come we begin to curse God. We curse Him right in His face just like the devil wants. We begin to blame God.
Always remember that any evil thing that happens to you is not caused by God. God permits things to happen in our life. That took me a long time to understand. How could a God who is so loving allow us to go through pain? It's because we have an enemy going back and forth trying to test our faithfulness to God.
There is also another verse in the Bible which is very helpful, which describes this very well and that is 1 Corinthians 10 verse 13:
No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
God does not allow anything in our life that is beyond our capacity. If He has allowed that problem in your life it means that He is counting on you. He is boasting about you in front of the devil. He knows you will overcome it and you not curse Him. Whatever happens , do not curse God because that's what the devil wants. Go into the Word, pray to God, hold on to God's promises, remind God about His word and about His promises. Encourage yourself in the Lord, seek friends who are faithful to God to pray with you. The devil is liar, he is the father of all lies. What he wants is for us to curse God but my friend will you pass the test? That's the question.
Prayer:
Father, in the name of Jesus. We want to thank you for Your Word which is living and powerful. We want to thank you my God for this knowledge to remind us that we have an enemy, an adversary who is always going back and forth looking and scrutinizing everything about our lives and his intention is for us to curse You, for us to give up on our faith but we refuse to give up. We will continue my God to go on. Give us strength when we go through tribulations and trials. We will rejoice my God in hope, we will be patient in tribulations and we will be persistent in prayer. Give us strength my God. Anoint us with your Holy Spirit of power. Remember my Father that our bodies are just fragile, we are small and deliver us from temptation. We want to thank you my God for all you've done for us and all You continue to do. We surrender our lives, our families and all we possess in your holy hands. My God the devil has no right over our lives. We give our lives to you and we bless your name. We glorify your name because we know you are able to fight any battles for us. We glorify your name and we praise you. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
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