The bible says that we should not give the devil a foothold (Ephesians 4:27). In context, Satan can come in through various entrances. Our anger, our sinful behavior any opportunity for Satan to manipulate us or manipulate a situation, he will take it. Satan is always looking for a way in. When asked in Job where he had been, Satan responded roaming to and fro throughout the earth. Peter describes him as a roaring lion that prowls and seeks whom he may devour.
It is important that we close up the breaches that exist in our lives. We must be like Nehemiah and repair the walls that keep unclean influences out and keep those that God is sanctifying in. If Satan cannot use your anger to get in, he will seek a different avenue. Be certain that he will never cease trying to get in and sometimes, he will because we are not perfect. We should pray to God to reveal to us any breaches that exist in our walls and ask him to fix them!
Satan is always looking for a way to come in a wreak havoc in our lives. Sometimes, he is allowed in by God's permissive will. Ask Peter. In Luke 22:31, Jesus informed Peter that the devil had demanded permission to sift him as wheat. The funny thing is, Jesus did not say that God told Satan no, but He did promise Peter that He had prayed for him and that because of His prayers, Peter's faith would not fail. When the permissive will of God allows Satan in, there is something to be learned from the experience. It will be hellish but Satan will have limits imposed on him.
When these situations come up, Satan will usually attack your family, your finances and your health. His sole purpose is to dislodge the believer from their faith and God's sole purpose in allowing the matter is to increase the believer's faith. If we examine Job's life, Job was systematically attacked by Satan. Initially, Satan wanted God to smite (Job 1:11, "but if you stretch out your hand against him, he will curse you to your face.) Job but God did not fall for that trick because in God's eyes Job was innocent (Job 1:12). God does not smite the innocent, he does not punish anyone without cause.
We see Job's life through a microscope in that we are given intimate details in the book of Job. He was a man of great stature and wealth. Satan attacked his children and his property. When that didn't work, Satan attacked Job's health. He sought another way in, not simply to cause trouble, but to cause Job's faith to fail. That's Satan's primary purpose in a test- if he can get us to no longer believe that God is good and that God loves us and if he can get us to walk away from God...he knows that we are doomed.
If you are enduring a test right now, remember that God is still in control and that He still loves us. If there is something in your life that is putting distance between you and God, pray with candor and ask God to show you what it is. God does not make mistakes nor does he allow suffering without a purpose. He will always offer a way out after the testing/refining/chastisement is complete. He is the way out. He will heal our "land" if we follow the prescription laid out in 2 Chronicles 7:14. God's grace and peace be upon you.
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