“Don’t be Scared of Satan”


BIBLE READING: Job 1-4

                If we are not careful, Job 1 can be a very scary reading.  In this introductory chapter we find Satan lurking around this world, seeking someone to devour (I Peter 5.8).  God is fully aware of what Satan is doing and willing to offer up His faithful servant Job as an example of someone who is living faithful.  As the story unfolds, God allows Satan to take away almost everything that Job has: his family, his health, his wealth, and his reputation.  Notice I said, “almost everything”, Job was left with his faith in God.  Satan may be able to take away many things that we consider to be blessings, but he cannot take our faith.  We alone have the power to decide whether we will hold to our faith or relinquish it. The scary part of the story is this, if God is willing to allow Satan to test Job, is He also willing to allow Satan to test me?  I believe that is what the Bible teaches us not just here, but in many other places in Scripture.  If God refused Satan the right to come after us, that would mean that God would be forfeiting our ability to be free moral agents.  It can be a very scary thought to know that Satan is coming after us with his guns a blazing mindset, but it can also be reassuring that God is right here to pick us up when we fall and help us become stronger.   That is the point isn’t it…no pain, no gain!  Sometimes falling down can be the best life lessons for us, as long as we are willing to get right back up.  So, don’t let Satan scare you…respect him…but don’t let him scare you.  Because greater is He who is within us than he who is within the world (I John 4.4).

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