Faith WHY THINGS GET WORSE
Though he slay me, yet will I trust him. Job 13:15.
"When the day came for the heavenly beings to appear before the Lord, Satan was there among them. The Lord asked him, 'What have you been doing?' Satan answered, 'I have been walking here and there, roaming around the earth.' 'Did you notice my servant Job?' the Lord asked. 'There is no one on the earth as faithful and good as he is. He worships me and is careful not to do anything evil."
"Satan replied, 'Would Job worship you if he got nothing out of it? You have always protected him and his family and everything he owns. You bless everything he does, and you have given him enough cattle to fill the whole country. But now suppose you take away everything he has--he will curse you to your face!"
" 'All right,' the Lord said to Satan, 'everything he has is in your power, but you must not hurt Job himself.' So Satan left" (Job 1:6-12, T.E.V.).
Why is it that people often discover things going worse when they are seeking God more? When a person begins a meaningful devotional life day by day with God, he may find that everything goes wrong.
Now, of course, that makes sense from the devil's viewpoint; he knows that the communion with God is where power is. Of course he will do everything he can do to discourage the person who is seeking that communion. But the question that perplexes us is, Where is God? Isn't He big enough to keep this sort of thing from happening?
This question has a fascinating answer, recorded in the book of Job. Don't look at Job's story as just a history lesson. It has practical application to us today. In the life of every person, in one way or another, the experience of Job is repeated. Satan knows that if he can just get us to break from our dependence upon God, his success is certain. If he can cause things to go wrong and thereby get us to scrap the whole business of seeking God, then not only has he succeed in his aim to separate us form communion with Him but he also has proved that we were seeking God only for selfish reasons in the first place. Our only safety lies in determining to continue seeking God, regardless of what happens in our lives. If we do this, Satan's plans will be defeated.
Though he slay me, yet will I trust him. Job 13:15.
"When the day came for the heavenly beings to appear before the Lord, Satan was there among them. The Lord asked him, 'What have you been doing?' Satan answered, 'I have been walking here and there, roaming around the earth.' 'Did you notice my servant Job?' the Lord asked. 'There is no one on the earth as faithful and good as he is. He worships me and is careful not to do anything evil."
"Satan replied, 'Would Job worship you if he got nothing out of it? You have always protected him and his family and everything he owns. You bless everything he does, and you have given him enough cattle to fill the whole country. But now suppose you take away everything he has--he will curse you to your face!"
" 'All right,' the Lord said to Satan, 'everything he has is in your power, but you must not hurt Job himself.' So Satan left" (Job 1:6-12, T.E.V.).
Why is it that people often discover things going worse when they are seeking God more? When a person begins a meaningful devotional life day by day with God, he may find that everything goes wrong.
Now, of course, that makes sense from the devil's viewpoint; he knows that the communion with God is where power is. Of course he will do everything he can do to discourage the person who is seeking that communion. But the question that perplexes us is, Where is God? Isn't He big enough to keep this sort of thing from happening?
This question has a fascinating answer, recorded in the book of Job. Don't look at Job's story as just a history lesson. It has practical application to us today. In the life of every person, in one way or another, the experience of Job is repeated. Satan knows that if he can just get us to break from our dependence upon God, his success is certain. If he can cause things to go wrong and thereby get us to scrap the whole business of seeking God, then not only has he succeed in his aim to separate us form communion with Him but he also has proved that we were seeking God only for selfish reasons in the first place. Our only safety lies in determining to continue seeking God, regardless of what happens in our lives. If we do this, Satan's plans will be defeated.
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