When God lets Satan test your faith, will you still praise Him?

What would happen if God allowed Satan to test your faith to the breaking point? Would you still praise Him?

The remarkable story of Job gives us a front-row seat to perhaps the most severe faith test ever documented. Following our series on wilderness experiences, we dive into Job chapter 1, where we witness a man whose relationship with God transcended his circumstances in ways that challenge and inspire us today.

I'm struck by God's extraordinary confidence in Job's character—initiating the conversation with Satan by asking, "Have you considered my servant Job?" When Satan argues that Job's faith depends entirely on his blessed circumstances, God permits the ultimate test. In devastating succession, Job loses his livestock, servants, and all his children without a moment to recover between tragedies. Yet Scripture records Job's astonishing response: "Despite all this, Job did not sin, nor did he blame God."

This narrative confronts us with difficult questions: Why does a good God allow suffering? While I don't claim complete understanding, I've witnessed how God consistently uses trials in my own life to strengthen me for future challenges. Nothing happens without passing through His sovereign hand, and authentic faith demonstrates its power precisely when circumstances suggest we should abandon it. As I shared with our students, "If your faith cannot be tested, then it cannot be trusted." True faith isn't conditional on comfort—it stands firm in life's harshest storms.

Whatever you're facing today, I encourage you to cultivate Job-like faith. Get into God's Word, pray boldly, and take each step He reveals. Remember, "It's easy to praise God when all things are beautiful, but the true breakthrough comes when you praise Him in the dark." Your faithful response during trials can reach people who might never otherwise encounter God's transforming power.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:10):
Good morning guys.
Welcome to Word Up.
I am sorry we have missed thepast couple of days but we are
back up and going and we'regoing to follow up with our
message from last night and jumpinto our daily reading today.
If you have not taken the timeto get in God's Word, remember
we've got to do the basics,we've got to spend time reading

(00:30):
God's Word, we've got to spendtime in prayer and allowing God
to show us the next move to make.
And so last night's message intoday's quiet time Job, chapter
1, verses 1 through 22.
Job is a very powerful book.
Following up last week, all ofour Quiet Times dealt with being

(00:53):
in the wilderness and Jesus'temptation that he faced in the
wilderness.
And here we go into Job and Ican't imagine a story any more
in the wilderness than where Jobwas and the things that he was
dealing with and the temptationthat was coming his way from
Satan.
But, man, what a powerfultestimony to think that God

(01:20):
chose Job, that God said goahead, satan, go ahead and give
it your best shot.
Have you considered my servant,job?
And I just I hope that one day.
I definitely don't want to gothrough what Job has gone
through.
But I hope to be the one thatGod would say you know, it

(01:42):
doesn't matter.
Satan said it's because of thathedge of protection you've put
around him, it's because he'swealthy, it's because he has
servants, it's because of allthe things You've blessed his
household.
That's the reason that hetrusts you.
But as soon as you let me takethose things away, he will
surely curse you.
And God said go ahead, curseyou.

(02:09):
And God said go ahead.
He knew that Job's faith wasbigger than just the things that
he would provide for him.
And I think oftentimes in ourwalk, whether it's it may not be
to the extent that we wouldcurse God, that we would
completely disown Him or talknegatively about Him.
But when you look at thestrength of our faith, are we

(02:31):
only faithful?
Are we only on fire when thingsare good or do we truly have
that faith of Job through thehard times?
Whenever you look at everythingbeing wiped away away, back to
back to back to back, there wasno gap.
He lost all of his animals, hislivestock, he lost his servants

(02:56):
, he lost his kids.
I just can't imagine the painand the heartache.
But if you look at Job 1, verse22, despite all of this.
Job did not sin, nor did heblame God.
Why does a good God allow badthings to happen?

(03:20):
Why would God allow this?
If he's so good and he's soloving, why would God allow Job
to go through all of thesethings?
Guys, the true answer is Idon't know.
I don't know why God does whathe does, but I know that I've
been through some hard times andI know I've been through some

(03:42):
hard times and I know I've beenthrough some difficult trials in
my life.
And even though nothing thathappens happens without passing
through the hand of God, god hasused every situation to make me
stronger, to teach me lessonsand to prepare me for the rough
battles to come.
So I don't know why bad thingshappen.

(04:06):
I can't explain everything thathappens in your life or that
will happen, but I do know thatGod is a good God.
The Bible tells us thismultiple times and I believe the
Word of God.
It's not something that I canput on paper, that I can write

(04:27):
out, that I can point to toprove it.
All I can tell you is what he'sdone in my life, and I know for
sure that, if you truly willseek Him with everything you've
got.
If we can do the basics, get inGod's Word, pray to Him and
take the steps that he tells usto take.
He will bless us, just like hedoes if you continue reading in

(04:49):
the book of Job, One of the mainthings that I challenged our
students with last night.
If your faith is not able to betested, then it's not able to be
trusted.
Trusted then it's not able tobe trusted.

(05:10):
If you're telling me that yourfaith can't withstand the hard
test that life's going to throw,if your faith's only good when
things are good and it's notstrong enough to make it through
the hard times in life, thenI'm telling you you need to go
back and truly assess yoursalvation and where you stand
with God, because a true faithin the Lord and knowing that

(05:34):
everything in His Word is true,knowing who he truly is and the
sovereignty of the Lord, givesus hope, even in those hard
times.
It's easy to praise God whenall things are beautiful, but
the true breakthrough comes whenyou praise Him in the dark.
When you praise God wheneverything else is failing, when

(05:57):
most people would be completelydistraught, ready to end it,
ready to just walk away andthrow their hands up and curse
at God when you can praise Himthrough those times.
He uses that to reach peoplethat you would think could never
be reached.
He uses that to strengthen yourfaith to a new level that will

(06:22):
allow you to truly accomplishbig things for him in your walk
with Christ.
How can you have a faith likeJob, even in adversity?
What is it that you're facingtoday?
Who is it that has let you down?
What situation are you in thatyou either deserved and choices

(06:46):
that you made got you there, ormaybe it was the choices that
somebody else made that led youthere.
But either way, do you have afaith like Job?
Do you know that God is goodand that he's given you
everything that you have, and ifhe wants to take it away,
that's perfectly fine, becauseyou know that he's going to
provide the next thing you need.

(07:07):
Guys, I pray that you eitherhave that faith or you find that
faith that you'll get in God'sword, that you'll be obedient,
that you'll go with boldnesswherever it is that he tells you
to go.
Give him everything you've gottoday and let him truly show you
the way.

(07:27):
I love you, guys.
We'll be back here tomorrow.
Ephesians, chapter 6, verses 10through 18.