The Way of Testingby Bishop W. Reynold Storr November 17, 2004 1Peter:4:12-13: Beloved think it not strange concerning the fiery trial Which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened untoyou: But rejoice, Inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings;that, when his glory Shall be revealed, ye may be glad also withexceeding joy.
The Protector Because of his faithful intercessions (Job 1:5), Job’s family lived gloriously untouched by adversity for many years. The troubler could not and did not penetrate the divine protection that surrounded Job, his family and his possessions. Grudgingly, Satan bore witness to this miraculous shield, likening it to a hedge: “Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side?” (Job 1:10). Job’s hedge was an impassable angelic barrier. God charged angels to encompass and guard Job’s world: “For he shall give his angels charge over thee to keep thee in all thy ways” (Ps. 91:11). No evil could pass this barrier unless God personally permitted it. (Job 1:12; 2:6.) Therefore, God was Job’s personal Protector.
The same Protector and same spiritual hedge surround the personal world of every obedient Christian today. This is the fulfillment of God’s promise to the patriarch of faith, Abraham. Early on in Abraham’s spiritual life, God revealed Himself as Abraham’s personal shield: “Fear not…I am thy shield…” (Gen. 15:1). And He has never forgotten this promise. To this hour, He still shields every true child of Abraham. Under orders from the Protector, angels guard our bodies, families, homes and possessions day and night. Supernaturally secure, we can rest in the supernatural peace of God in this day of unprecedented terror and universal fear, knowing that the God who shielded Abraham and Job also shields us. But some may disagree.
Considering the breech in Job’s protection, some may think the Book of Job is a strange source of confidence. But we must put things in right perspective. Largely, the Book of Job records a very brief period in Job’s life, about one year (Job 1:6; 42:15). During the remainder of his very lengthy life-time—possibly totaling two hundred years! –Job was not touched by Satan. Not even once! (Job 1:1-5; 42:16-17.) That kind of security cannot be duplicated by human means; it is divine! Unfailing! Miraculous! Therefore, instead of inducing the fear of sudden calamity, Job’s biography should inspire faith in Job’s Protector.
Satan’s malicious invasions into Job’s world were not divine failures. God’s omnipotence cannot lapse. Rather, they were calculated changes in the divine plan, necessary only for a season to test and establish Job’s faith. Instead of focusing on the fact that Job’s hedge was broken through and worrying that God may permit the same in our lives, we should remember the many years of Job’s security. Before and after Job’s personal tribulation period God’s protection held off the destroyer perfectly, and God will do the same for every Christian who trusts and obeys. Should we not, put our trust anew in our unfailing Protector?
The Competitor When Satan insulted Job and God and issued his challenge, “But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face” (Job 1:11), surprisingly, God immediately accepted the challenge: “Behold, all that he hath is in thy power…” (1:12). Unintimidated, God showed no inclination to avoid a contest. The same God who regularly protected Job from destruction readily exposed him to severe testing. Heaven’s Coach did not hesitate to send His best player onto a very demanding playing field. To gain the joy of victory, God was ready to risk defeat. Clearly, He was a bold Competitor.
He still is. God never shrinks from the enemy’s challenges, nor holds us back from our tests. Once we have had ample time to become rooted in the words and ways of God and have gained vital wisdom and experience from lesser trials, a season of strong testing will unexpectedly visit our lives. As in Job’s life, an evil day will dawn: “Now there was a day…” (Job: 1:13 & Ephesians: 6:13). In that day, the Competitor will without hesitation thrust us, His trained gladiators, into an arena of final testings. On that spiritually lethal field of play, our faith and loyalty to God will be severely tested that they maybe established for all time and eternity.
Are we preparing ourselves for this competition? Now is the time to build our strength and hone (sharpen) our skills in our preparatory trials. There will be no time to prepare when the Competitor suddenly thrusts us into arenas like Job’s.
The Initiator God, not Satan, initiated Job’s trials. He is, therefore, the Initiator. Foreseeing Satan’s hateful challenges and Job’s faithful endurance, God sparked both of the heavenly conversations that led to Job’s two fiery onslaughts: “And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant, Job, that there is none like him in the earth?” (Job 1:8; 2:3). On each of these two occasions, Satan turned his attention to Job and conceived the cruel attacks only after the Lord had spoken well of Job. (Job 1:9—11; 2:4—5.) This reveals that the Lord, not the adversary, was in control of everything that followed. It also proves that Job’s adversities were not accidental but providential. Satan did not conceive them; God authored them. The Mastermind’s thoughts were far ahead of the misery-maker’s. Job’s heavenly Trainer was wiser than his diabolical troubler and immensely larger than his colossal (huge, colossal) troubles. God was in complete control from alpha to omega. Obviously, He knew He could trust Job. If He didn’t think Job could stand the flames, He would have held back the words that ignited them, for as the Bible repeatedly states, and as we repeatedly learn in life, the Initiator is faithful: There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. (1ST Cor: 10:13).
He is equally faithful in sending our trials. Satan attacks us only after the Initiator has spoken well of us in heaven. The enemy’s onslaughts, then, reveal that God is pleased with our current spiritual development. We should then remember these truths from Job’s trials: Our trials are not random happenings, but the plan of a Mastermind. The Initiator, not the enemy, started them and is in unrivaled control of them from beginning to end. Furthermore, He planned them for our good, not our ruin. Their very presence in our lives proves that He trusts us to stand true to Him. If He didn’t, He would have held back the spark that enflamed the enemy against us. The Initiator never permits us to be tested above what we are able to bear. So His commencement of our trials proves that we are presently able to rise above them in Him.
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