Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his life. But stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face.” — Job 2:4-5

So Satan lost round one big time. It was a bit of an embarrassment for him. But we discover here that Satan doesn't give up easily. He's not a quitter. In fact, he will not stop tormenting creation until the day God banishes him to Hell. Till then, he is free to walk and roam the earth. And because Satan acts in his nature, which is in rebellion with God, he will do anything to create chaos in God's created order. He will use physical suffering as a means to persuade humanity to act in rebellion with God.

So round two gets a lot more personal. Satan asks for permission to attack Job's flesh and inflict physical pain. Now, this is a lot more personal. It's not just emotional pain like we saw in round one. Round two is about causing a skin infection that ignites the nerve endings of his body.

I believe Satan chooses this means of suffering because he knows we have a preference for comfort. And he knows that comfort is often the reason we are driven to God. We come to God to seek the comforts of salvation from pain caused by sin. And as we come, God saves us. He saves us from our sin and eternal suffering. But salvation from temporal pain is not guaranteed in this life. It's not guaranteed until that last day. So Satan uses temporal pain to sway disbelief in God and the comforts of his salvation. He essentially uses discomfort to get us to question a comforting God. And for some, this results in disbelief.

So today, if you are encountering physical and personal pain, don't let a desire for temporal comfort drive you from spiritual comfort in God. Temporal pain of any kind — like a torn tendon, a broken bone, aching joints, skin disease, or even cancer is only a reminder that one day God will give us new bodies. The apostle Paul said this:

Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. — 1 Corinthians 15:51-53

ASK THIS: What temporal pain are you suffering, and how is it causing you to question the comfort of God? (Share this in the comments below).

DO THIS: Standfast in belief about the spiritual comforts promised by God and the eventual resurrection of a new body.

PRAY THIS: God, be glorified in me.

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