"All Other Ground..."

I was thinking about Job. I've often looked at the story as a description of the way Job stayed loyal to his God, despite all the worse possible scenarios life could possibly throw at him! And how God believed in his faithfulness enough to allow Satan to take all those things from him - all but his life! - to prove that Job's loyalty was not about all the good things God had given him, but about their relationship itself! And it's true! It was about that! But that led to another thought.

What if the primary point of Job's story is to state that every single thing in this life can be taken from us - we can lose every precious thing we care about here! Every good and beautiful thing that he has given us! Satan, in his great desire to break us and our bond with God, can attack us from all those directions! Our livelihood and job security, our home and place of shelter, our family who warm our hearts, our health and vitality which allows us to enjoy life! All these things can, and will, be attacked here in this life. While Satan still has any power here, he will take any of these things in an effort to break us down!

But there's one thing he cannot take!!! He cannot take our faith and hope in the one who came to show us incredible love! He cannot break God's hold on us!!! - unless we listen to the negative whispers coming at us and let that happen. Job did not. And Satan could not shake his faith in the goodness of God. Despite everything!!

There is a passage in Romans 8 that says "And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord." That was written by a man who Satan had also tried to break! And he knew - there is only one thing in this life that can never be taken from you!!!

Hold onto him tightly! He will never fail you! You will always be his! No matter what else you lose in this life!!! That alone cannot be taken.

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