No matter how bad things get for Job, there is one thing Satan cannot take away. His choices. Health and circumstances decline, to tragic degrees. But Job still exercises his ability to choose. No matter how bad it gets, he keeps deciding.
Satan’s bet is basically this: if circumstances get bad enough, either Job will make radically different choices that mirror his circumstances or forget he has choices and flow with the tide of tragedy.
Job’s friends try to lead him to this conclusion. The common sense of worldly wisdom would lead him there.
But Job makes another decision. He chooses faith in God. He chooses to trust his Creator. His circumstances don’t determine his decisions. Importantly, neither do his decisions determine his circumstances. Job’s choices transcend his circumstances. And this is the magic of obedience to God. It is bigger than the events, the arenas in which we decide. It doesn’t play by their rules.
We each have the same opportunity as Job. We cannot control circumstances by our decisions, but we can choose our perspective. And we can make decisions out of a place of trust.
Circumstances are a necessary setting for life to play out. But each day is about the choices we make in the drama we call “life.” Nothing is more important than the choices before us. And nothing in life negates those choices and their cosmic implications. The only way we lose our choice is by forfeit, which is in itself a choice.
“Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God.” – Job 1:22