Unseen Battles

Job 1:6-12

Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. The Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.” And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.

Job 42:1-2

Then Job answered the Lord and said: “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.


Explanation:

Have you ever had someone bring something to your attention that you never noticed before? It can be a simple as someone pointing out the way you say a certain word, a doctor asking if you have been experiencing a particular symptom, or even a mechanic identifying a funny noise in your car. I once had a biology teacher in high school who recorded the number of times that his students used their hands to touch their faces during classwork. If I remember correctly, we were in a unit on germs, and he wanted to educate us on how easily germs can be passed from our hands to our faces. You’d better believe that we were a whole lot more conscientious about it after that day.

I use these examples to pinpoint the power of awareness. When we read stories from Scripture like today’s, we are instantly reminded there is a spiritual side to us that can easily go unnoticed. More so, when we are made aware that the spiritual can impact our physical, hopefully it compels us to operate differently. When stepping into a relationship with a God who is Spirit (John 4:24), we must understand that He is going to interact there. We cannot overlook it or minimize the impact it has in our lives, because satan, our enemy, will also confront us spiritually.

We get an incredibly vivid picture of how satan and the other fallen angels that follow him (what Job refers to as “the sons of God” in verse 6) interact with the earth. In 1 Peter 5:8, we see satan described like a lion, just walking or prowling around on earth looking for someone to harm. In that same verse, we are also warned to be always on high alert, because he is going to be complicating all that God is trying to work in our lives. In the case of Job, we do see an instance where God sovereignly allows Job to experience hardship from satan. Although it may confuse us, God’s ways are not without purpose. Maybe even a purpose that will remain unknown to us. Then again, we trust in the good character of God. Our hope never has been or will be in the perfect life. God has given us His Holy Spirit for the imperfect now, to carry us through to the perfect eternity. Therefore, we must be vigilant to engage God in the spiritual.


Application:

1. Why do you think it can be challenging for us to notice the spiritual impact on our lives?

2. What can engaging with the Holy Spirit provide for someone trying to live a life more like Jesus?

3. How do we distinguish the difference between a spiritual attack from satan and spiritual interaction from God?

4. What does the life of someone look like who does not connect with the Holy Spirit on a consistent basis?


Prayer:

Thank You, God, for giving us Your very Spirit to walk through this imperfect life with. It is such an incredible gift to have in all seasons of life. Holy Spirit, I worship You and ask for You to draw me in deeper with You starting this day.