One day, the devil came to present himself before God and said with self-satisfaction, I have roamed

through the earth but I have yet to find a person who truly fears God God then said to the devil, Have you considered my servant Job. He is a great man who fears God and shuns evil. The devil replied God, That is because You have given him a very smooth-sailing life, with money, many livestock, such a wonderful wife and children and people all respect him. Of course he will fear you! If you take away all he has, he will surely curse you to your face and not fear You. God replied. Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands but you may not lift a finger to harm him. Satan then went out to tempt Job greatly. One day, when Job children were feasting, one of his servants came to Job saying. There were some robbers who came and killed all the servants and also carried your oxen and donkeys off. At the same time, another servant also ran to him saying, The fire fell from the sky and burned up all the sheep and servants. Yet another servant came running by, saying some robbers came and carried your camels away and also killed your servants. Lastly, there was another servant who came and reported, While your children were feasting, a mighty wind blew and the entire house collapsed on them and everyone of them were killed. Job hence knelt before the Lord and praised Him, Lord, all these are given by You, and also taken away by You. May the name of the Lord be praised. Later, Satan went back before God and God said, You see, you lifted your fingers to take away everything that Job has but he still fears Me. Satan replied, A man will fear the pain of the flesh. If you give him such an illness, he will surely curse you to your face God said Very well, then, you can try but you must spare his life! Satan hence caused Job to have painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. Job was in such pain that he took a piece of broken pottery to scrape himself. Jobs wife said to him, You might as well curse God and die. Job replied, \You are a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God and not trouble. God allowed the devil to tempt Job because God eventually wanted Job to receive the greatest blessing, so that Job could see the greatest love of God, and that he would receive more and better than what he initially had. Morals Sometimes God permits inauspicious circumstances to enter the lives of those who love and obey him. Why? Because he wishes to test their loyalty and faithfulness to Him, for one thing. Also, some good comes out of such occasions when one endures and learns from these experiences. Usually we are shown something about ourselves that needs to be changed, improved, or purged; and only through unfavorable circumstances can these things be pointed out to us. We should not resent nor despise Gods correction, because God disciplines those whom He loves as His children. How many of us can respond to hard times with that kind of attitude keeping in mind that there is a reason for everything which happens to us, even bad things