Devotional:

We are a little over halfway through the 21 days of fasting and prayer. How’s it going? Have you faced any trials, unexpected drama, bumps in the road? How about the fasting? That’s gone perfectly, you haven’t waivered one bit. Right?

More times than not, it can seem like things are getting worse instead of better when we are called to prayer and fasting. And this is about the time you start to really feel it. It’s different. The attacks just keep coming. The question is, how are we going to handle it when Satan tries to break us?

Read Daniel 1-3.

Throughout the Bible, we see trials that come with true dependence and strong faith in God. Look at Daniel. He wasn’t wavering from his faith. He even gave up meat, he only ate vegetables and seeds and asked God to be his strength. His best friends were Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Remember what happened to them? Because of their faith and refusal to bow down to the golden statue of King Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 3), they were thrown into a fiery furnace.

The king was so jealous and angry that he commanded the furnace to be heated seven times hotter than normal. In fact, the furnace was so hot that it killed the men that threw them in there. They did not fear the king or the furnace because they had a faith that is hard for most to comprehend. Because of this faith, they were protected and unharmed in that furnace. The king saw them, but not only them. He saw a fourth man, some say it was an angel but most theologians say it was Jesus, standing with them, protecting them.

Long story short, King Nebuchadnezzar praised God and tore down his false idol commanding no one to worship any other god than the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. But the trials didn’t stop there. Later in the book of Daniel, after King Nebuchadnezzar’s rule, Daniel gets thrown into the lion’s den for standing firm against idol worship. The king sees the Lord prevail and bowed down to the one true God.

We read of these incredible trials that people in the bible overcame, unharmed. But sometimes, it didn’t end that way. And sometimes, it doesn’t feel that way for us. Maybe we don’t come out of it unharmed or unscathed.

Instead, we are left feeling defeated and thinking “I lost something dear to me,” or “I suffered and asked God for deliverance and it didn’t happen.” What if that’s your story? What if your faith is strong, you are drawing near to Him and you become ill, lose a job or get hit by a shocking financial burden? What if your child or someone you love is sick or suffering? What if you feel like you’ve done everything He has asked you to do, and yet, the bad news keeps coming?

Many faithful people in the bible have that story. Job has that story. He was unwavering in his commitment to God, faithful through it all. In the end, he loses everything: his money, his children, and eventually, his life. There is a lot in the book of Job, like Daniel. But, for the purpose of this being a daily devo and not a 6-week Bible study, I’ll try to summarize.

In Job 1, we learn about Job, but we also get the scoop on why he is about to go through these trials. Job 1:1 says Job was “blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.” All good things. Then we learn that God blessed him with many children, wealth, and livestock so that he (3) “was the greatest of all the people of the east.”

So, God blesses Job for his faithfulness.

Then, in verses 13-19, all hell breaks loose, quite literally. First, he finds out that all his oxen, and donkeys were stolen and his servants were killed by the Sabeans. But before that messenger could get all of that out, another came to tell Job that fire fell from heaven (probably lightning) and burned up his sheep and those servants.

Next, the Chaldeans raided the camels, took them, and struck down those servants. Then comes the last messenger in to tell him that all seven of his children were gathered at the oldest brother’s house for dinner, and a wind came, tore the house down, killing all of them.

Now, I think all these things happened simultaneously because Satan is brutal and tries to pack a big punch. Job goes from being the greatest man in the east to a man whose world had been completely destroyed in a matter of minutes. Everything in his life was gone, except for his wife.

Why in the world would God let this happen to a man He had blessed with so much because of his faithfulness?

We skipped a few verses. Let’s go back to verse 6. Satan and God have a conversation. In verse 7, God asks Satan, who shows up during a meeting with His angels, “from where have you come?” Satan answers him with, “going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it”. He is basically telling God he is looking for trouble, people to mess with and make fall into temptation. Just like 1 Peter 5:8 says: “the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour.”

Then the confusing part for me… God says, oh, what about my boy Job? You’ll never break him! (Loose translation of verse 8.) Satan challenges God, telling Him that Job treasures all his earthly possessions more than Him and as soon as it gets taken away, Job will curse Him to his face. God accepts the challenge and allows Satan to take everything from him under one condition: he was not to harm Job in any way.

So, that’s what happens. Job loses everything in an instant. And then in the last verse of chapter 1, it says “In all this, Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.” What? Wow, that does say a lot about Job’s character. I’m not sure I could lose my kids, my money, my entire way of life without questioning God and feeling some kind of anger or bitterness.

There is much more to Job, after all, that’s just the first chapter. But let’s focus on that for today. We don’t know much about the book of Job. We don’t know who wrote it, when or where it was written, but we do know it is God-inspired. God-ordained. Everything in the Bible is. It is there for a reason.

Maybe, it’s so this story remains timeless so we can embrace it when we go through trials. Maybe it’s to show us that God doesn’t do bad things to us. Does He allow bad things to happen in our lives? Yes. Maybe God used Satan to show people His glory. Maybe it wasn’t about what Job lost, but it was about showing the glory of God through the condition of Job’s heart.

Satan didn’t care about what Job lost. His number one goal was to break Job’s faith and take his eyes off the Heavenly Father. When you continue to read, Satan comes back, asking God for more attempts at breaking Job. I would imagine Satan was furious after that first round.

There is nothing more upsetting to the devil than us leaning closer to God when we experience loss and heartache in our lives. Satan loses his grip on us. But beware! He doesn’t give up there. He starts turning up the heat! It sounds a little Star Wars-ish but, spiritual dark forces are set into motion when we stand firm, pray and fast for revival, for change in our lives, for our city and this world. When we lean into Him, we say no to the strongholds in our lives.

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

— James 1:2-4

Stand firm, Eleven22! When Satan attacks, you know you are doing something right!

Heavenly Father thank You for your inspired word. Thank You for the comfort of Your Word in times of trial. Lord, when I start to feel the enemy, be my strength. Help me to stand firm and fight the evil forces of darkness that come to steal, kill and destroy all that I care for. I pray that the people of Eleven22 stand firm against the enemy and draw nearer to You. Let the enemy flee from this church and this city and may Your glory shine down and fill every person and every area that sits in darkness. Amen.