Question 11: How Do I know if God has given Satan permission in my life?
This question arose during our study of Satan, and it is a thoughtful one. Many believers have read the account of Job and noticed that God allowed Satan to test him within specific boundaries. That naturally leads to the question: How do I know if God has given Satan permission to work in my life?
The honest answer is that most of the time, we do not know.
One of the most interesting things about the Book of Job is that Job himself never knew about the conversation taking place in heaven. As readers, we are given a glimpse behind the curtain, but Job was not. He experienced loss, suffering, confusion, and questions without knowing the details of what was happening in the spiritual realm.
The same is generally true for us.
The Bible does not teach believers how to determine whether a particular hardship is the result of satanic opposition, living in a fallen world, the actions of other people, our own poor decisions, or some combination of those factors. In fact, Scripture places very little emphasis on identifying the unseen causes behind every difficulty.
Instead, the Bible focuses on how we are to respond.
When Paul spoke of his “thorn in the flesh,” he described it as “the messenger of Satan to buffet me” (2 Cor. 12:7). Yet Paul spent far more time discussing what God was teaching him through the trial than he did explaining the source of the trial itself.
That is an important lesson for us.
Many times, we ask questions that God has not chosen to answer. We want to know:
· Is this attack from Satan?
· Is God testing me?
· Is this spiritual warfare?
· Why is this happening?
Those questions are understandable, but they often fall into the category of what Scripture calls “the secret things.”
“The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.” Deuteronomy 29:29.
God has not promised to reveal everything that is happening behind the scenes. He has, however, revealed how His children are to live.
Rather than asking, “Has God given Satan permission in my life?” a better question may be:
“How does God want me to respond to what I am facing?”
Whether the trial comes through satanic opposition, the consequences of living in a fallen world, the actions of other people, or circumstances we do not understand, our responsibility remains the same.
· We are called to trust God.
· We are called to obey His Word.
· We are called to pray.
· We are called to persevere.
· We are called to walk by faith.
One truth should bring great comfort to every believer: Satan cannot operate independently of God’s authority. The accounts of Job and Peter both demonstrate that Satan remains a creature under God’s control.
Jesus told Peter:
“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:” Luke 22:31.
Notice that Satan had desires, but he did not have unlimited freedom. God remained in control.
The same is true today.
Nothing enters the life of a believer apart from God’s knowledge. That does not mean God causes evil, approves of evil, or delights in suffering. It does mean that God remains sovereign over every circumstance we face.
One of my favorite examples is Joseph. Looking back over years of betrayal, slavery, false accusation, and imprisonment, Joseph could finally say to his brothers:
“But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.” Genesis 50:20
Joseph never fully understood everything that was happening while he was living through it. Yet God was working all along.
The same is often true in our lives.
There may be times when we never know why a particular hardship came our way. We may never know whether Satan was involved or whether some other factor was at work. What we can know is that God is faithful, God is good, and God is worthy of our trust.
One of Satan’s greatest victories would be to keep believers endlessly focused on trying to identify the source of every trial while neglecting the response God has clearly commanded.
The Bible calls us to keep our eyes on Christ.
Instead of trying to uncover every hidden detail behind our difficulties, let us focus on walking faithfully with the Lord through them. The God who was with Job, Joseph, Peter, and Paul is the same God who walks with His children today.
This sounds much more like a pastoral answer from a Bible study teacher speaking to his class, and it naturally steers the reader back to God’s character rather than speculation about unseen spiritual activity.
