Shaken

"And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thine hand; only lay not thine hand upon him ... And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not" (Job 1:12; Luke 22:31-32).

These two passages, and their respective contexts, illustrate an amazing fact: God grants Satan permission to sift God's servants. Both Job and Peter show us, in their painful experiences, that this is possible.

Why is this happening? Why were Job and Peter chosen for this? Is this a common experience for God's children, or is it only for some? What is Satan's objective? What is God's objective?

From what happened with Job and Peter, we can deduce some important things: First, that both stood out among their peers; they were people with ascendancy over others. Both, moreover, had a high self-concept. In fact, they considered themselves better than those around them.

The fact that they stood out above others attracted Satan's attention; their righteousness was exhibited, but it was not real. This fact meant that they did not have God's covering. Only what God produces in man is spiritual, and escapes the devil's attack. The devil feeds on dust, that is, on the flesh, and where there are works of the flesh, however good and sophisticated they may appear, it is the food that God gave Satan: "Dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life" (Gen. 3:14).

God permitted this shaking because it was the way for his servants to be freed from that deformity of their character, from their vain claim to self-righteousness. The shaking would cleanse them of that ugliness.

Of course, Satan has no noble aims with the children of God. He wanted to destroy them; however, in both cases, Job and Peter, they were defended by God. God forbade Satan to lay his hand on Job; in the case of Peter, the Lord Jesus himself prayed for him so that his faith would not fail.

Job must have wearied God with his righteousness so foolishly exhibited. (Recall that there are long passages in his discourses devoted exclusively to pondering his own virtues). So does Peter, who repeatedly intervenes, as if he were the best of men, speaking boldly to the Lord. The straw that breaks the camel's back is when he assures that, even if others are scandalized by the Master, he will never do so.

Here are two men who could not be healed of their foolishness, presumption and vanity any other way than by the devil's shaking. That is why God permitted it. Their extreme pain, their bitter tears, their deep misery, demonstrated in that trance, healed them forever. How beautiful in God they became after this! Thus Satan, without knowing it -and without being able to help it- served God's purpose; so also God's beloved came to look as never before, not their own righteousness, but Christ's.

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