Job 2:1-10

Spend time in prayer and silence with God asking Him to meet with you and speak to you.

Bible Reading

On another day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them to present himself before him. And the Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?”

Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.”

Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason.”

“Skin for skin!” Satan replied. “A man will give all he has for his own life. But now stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face.”

The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life.”

So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head. Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes.

His wife said to him, “Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!”

He replied, “You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?”

In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.

– Job 2:1-10

Devotion

Satan was not satisfied with the results of Job’s first test. He argues that Job would certainly curse God if his own life was threatened with physical suffering. Even when his own wife urges him to give in, Job continues to maintain his integrity and refuses to curse God.

Why does God allow human suffering? Who was responsible for Job’s suffering? What purpose would God have in allowing Satan to torment His righteous servant Job? All human suffering is the result of living in a fallen world. This was not God’s original intent. When sin entered the world through Adam, everything changed in a negative way. Despite Job’s suffering, he is getting ready to learn some valuable lessons about the Lord and himself.

The Big Question

How might God use human suffering to reveal Himself to us? How might we grow or mature as a result of our own sufferings?

Conclude your time in prayer and silence reflecting on what you have learned.