July 14 – Assaulted for Glory (Job 1:6-12)

“Then the Lord said to Satan, ‘Have you considered my servant Job?’ “(Job 1:8)

IN WORD:
We’d like to think that in our resistance against the enemy, God is our refuge. He is, but not in the way we think. Far from being Job’s hiding place, God became his PR firm. He makes no attempt to shield Job’s reputation from the enemy. He specifically points to His servant as a target.
Why would God do such a thing? Job has served Him well. Is this really the reward he gets? Does all of his righteous behavior really warrant the transaction made in the heavens, when Satan approaches Job’s Refuge and the Refuge points to Job? Why would God set His faithful servant up for temptation, even disaster?
Because there is an overarching purpose in this universe, and it is not the comfort of man. We like to think that God exists for our benefit, that He’s a heavenly wish-granter and need-fulfiller. And while He has committed to grant us our heart’s desires — assuming those hearts are godly — and to fulfill all our needs — assuming we look to Him in faith — His actions are not guided primarily by the welfare of man. His actions are guided first by the glory of His name. And in this case, the glory of His name called for a demon-stration.

IN DEED:
We often get caught up in human-centered thinking. We assume that God’s salvation is first and foremost about our well-being, and we even try to define ”well-being” for Him as comfort, prosperity, success, and health. God is interested in all those things; after all, He cares for us passionately. But there’s a higher purpose: His glory. This is a God-centered universe, not a man-centered one.
When you are under attack from the adversary, ask God to protect you and deliver you. But more than that, ask Him to preserve His reputation in you. Ask for His glory to be made manifest in the conflict. Ask for victory for His sake first, and for your sake second. Understand that this conflict revolves around issues much higher than you. It revolves around the glory of God.

“The glory of God . . . Is the real business of life.” -C.S. Lewis-