May 9

Trampled Satan

The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.  ––Romans 16:20

Do you ever daydream about asking God certain questions when you get to heaven? (I’m not sure if there are Q&As in heaven, by it’s my daydream, so…) One of mine: “Why did You allow Satan to wreak havoc in the life of Job?” I mean, it says Job was a righteous man, but God gives Satan permission to afflict him with a world of troubles. He loses his children, his wealth, and his property. My reaction is, “Unfair!”

The general consensus among theologians is that God knew Job would be faithful, and that’s why He allowed Satan to test him (that whole omniscience thing). Honestly, I still struggle with Job’s predicament. (Like I said, I look forward to finding out the full story when I get to heaven.)

Satan’s attack on Job was extreme and involved God’s permission; and while Satan does attack believers, it’s typically not as extreme as Job. The other thing to remember is that when we accept Christ, the Holy Spirit indwells us—He takes up residence in our spirit. Through the power of the Holy Spirit and His activity in our lives, we have resources and protections against the enemy to withstand his attacks—just as Job did.

Man of God, remember that you are hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3), seated with Christ in the heavenlies (Ephesians 2:6), and that the Lord is faithful and will establish you and guard you against the evil one (2 Thessalonians 3:3). And perhaps most encouraging of all, with Christ’s victory on the cross, Satan is a doomed enemy. In fact, Paul tells us that Jesus “disarmed the powers and authorities [and] made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross” (Colossians 2:15).

And while evil things happen to good people (Christians included), we must remember that we do need to fear the enemy. Instead, “Submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). You and I fight for the victorious side.

And remember: In the end, Job proved himself faithful to God; his possessions were restored and he was blessed with more children and grandchildren. How much more for God’s men—who have the living Christ as our advocate—and who serve a triumphant Savior!

Lord, I don’t need to fully understand You to trust You. Help me to accept things that are far beyond my comprehension, just as Job did in the end.