How Dare You, Satan!

Training for Today: Rest

Devotion: How Dare You, Satan!

Satan loves your grief. He wants to mess with your thinking, your relationships, and your view of the future. Most of all, he’s hoping that your circumstances will drive you away from God. Do you remember the story of Job? Here’s what happened:

“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 through the earth and going back and forth in 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 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 hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.’ Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD” (Job 1:6-12).

So it began. Satan was thrilled that he had this opportunity to attack Job’s faith. He’s thrilled that he has this opportunity to attack yours. Be on the lookout for Satan. He prowls near, waiting to catch you in a moment of weakness. Doesn’t that make you angry? I remember yelling, “How dare you, Satan! How dare you think that this will turn me away from my God!”

When Satan does tempt us with adversity, let’s take our cue from Job’s reaction to losing his family members as part of Satan’s temptations:

“At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said:
‘Naked I came from my mother's womb,
and naked I will depart.
The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away;
may the name of the LORD be praised.’
In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.” (Job 1:20-22)

May the name of the Lord be praised! Satan plugs his ears when you say or think those words, so scream them at the top of your lungs!

Prayer
Dear Lord, you are the one who gives and the one who takes away, all for a purpose that is far beyond my comprehension. May your name be praised! Amen.