Man vs. Devil: We Always Win!

"On another day the angels came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them to present himself before him." Job 2:1

How many times in conversations with other Christians have we heard about how someone is being attacked by the devil? I bet you've heard it a lot. A string of bad things happen, and you hear about how the devil is attacking, and prayers ensue for the bad stuff to come to an end. The other day though, I think I heard one of the more profound thoughts on this very statement, and I've been thinking on it ever since. If even the devil answers to God, are we really under attack from the devil?

"Does Job fear God for nothing?" Satan replied. ¹⁰ "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. ¹¹ But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face." ¹² 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." Job 1:9-12

If you read any of the book of Job, it quickly becomes clear that the devil does nothing to Job without permission from God in the first place. So while the devil is the tormentor and the troublemaker, it was God who gave the devil permission to lay siege to Job in the first place. Huh. I really think there is something here that if we can just grab ahold of what the Bible is saying, we'll be onto one of the keys to a relationship with God- and a huge (and I mean huge!) faith booster. So I am going to think out loud this morning, and see if we can come to any kind of conclusion about this very unique relationship.

"For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything." 1 John 3:20

One of the biggest things I think we can take away from Job is Job's relationship with God. God is up there in heaven, seated on the throne, when the angels and Satan come before Him. God knows Job inside and out- He knows Job better than Job knows himself, and I believe that when God says "See my servant Job?" He knows that no matter what Satan threw at Job, that Job's heart would stay true. God knew this. He knew this with absolute certainty.

"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." Job 1:8

Now let's think about Job. Let's think about the trials he begins to experience, simply because God gave the devil permission. Much of the book of Job is Job lamenting the situation he is in, and wondering why it seems as though God has forsaken him. Think about how much easier that time in his life would have been endured if he had known what we know- that God was bragging on him and knew that Job would stand firm in his faith. God was bragging on Job! God knew Job's heart so well, that he knew that no matter what the devil dished out, Job would stand firm in his love for God. Now lets think about ourselves:

"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. 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 stand up under it." 1 Corinthians 10:13

Let's just think about this for a second. God loves us, God knows us- God knows our hearts better than we know them. And the devil needs to seek permission from God before he tries any kind of attack on us. So the more we seek God, the more we spend time in God's Word and in prayer and reflection, the more we get to know God better- the more established our relationship with God becomes. And we begin to draw closer. And then one day the devil realizes what's going on and says "hey God, I'm going to throw a little something their way." And God looks upon us, sees our heart, and knows that we will make it through whatever the devil has in his mind to dish out to us. So He gives permission- but just as he restricted the devil when it came to Job, he places restrictions on the devil, because God knows exactly where our breaking point would be, and He will never allow the devil to tempt us beyond what we can bear.

Not only that! If we read 1 Corinthians 10:13 correctly, it also says that God will provide a way out for us! It stands to reason that if God knows our hearts and knows exactly how much temptation we can handle- He also knows exactly what we need to get us out of that same temptation, and He will provide it for us.

So why does God allow the devil to tempt us in the first place? Well first of all, we've already established that God knows our hearts, and since He's probably been bragging on us, He knows that we can handle what the devil dishes out. But secondly, God allows things to happen to us to give us an opportunity to grow in our faith, and to learn to rely more on Him.

"There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven" Ecclesiastes 3:1

And if we really think on this, think about how excited you are when you emerge from a trial victorious? What do you do? You tell everyone you know about how God helped you through a trial. And every time you tell a story about how God helped you overcome, you're not only giving your own faith a boost- but you're giving your audience a faith boost. The more times I tell a story about how God provides for our needs, the more times I believe that He will indeed provide. And when I tell people how God met a particular need in a way that only God could, it helps to show them that it's okay to trust in Jehovah Jireh- our provider.

So as I'm thinking about certain trials we may be experiencing right now, I can't help but wonder what kind of conversations went on in heaven. I can take heart in knowing that God was probably bragging on us, talking about how we've grown so much in our faith. And I can also have complete faith that God will present our "out" when the perfect time arises- because God knows us and loves us and will not give us more than we can handle. Just thinking about this, gives me the biggest boost this morning! We will make it through whatever gets dished out to us, as long as we stand firm in our faith, and continue to seek God for the answers.