Job 2:3
Then the LORD said to Satan, ‘Have you considered My servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited Me against him to ruin him without reason.’
It has always been somewhat of a mystery to me that there are conversations in heaven between God and Satan. These conversations concern those of us here on earth. We know that Satan is the enemy of our souls and the accuser of the believers.
As we read the account of Job we see that God boasts to Satan about the integrity of Job. What this tells me is that God watches our actions and more than that, the motivations behind our actions. In other words, God knows the thoughts and intents of our hearts. He not only sees what we do but knows why we do it.
In the New Testament we read that Jesus told Peter that Satan had desired to sift him and the other disciples as wheat. Even though Peter proclaimed his steadfast faithfulness and willingness to die for Jesus, we know he fell short.
What do we do when our integrity falls short of our best intentions? The answer is to confess our failures and get up to serve the Lord. Peter and the other disciples that failed the Lord at the moment of His arrest and trial eventually became martyrs for Him after the Resurrection. Integrity is confessing our failures and going on to live for Him!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil