It never occurred to me that God could be tested by us until I heard the words “tested and tried” in the middle of the night. Thinking there was scripture containing both of these words regarding us, I set out to find them, and lo and behold, there were none. I only discovered one scripture with them both and it was a surprise to me. See for yourself that it was God Who was tested and tried as revealed in Hebrews 3: 9: with Him saying: “Your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works 40 years.” So take heed: When we continue in sin, we too, do the same to Him that the Israelites did.

Oh, that we never forget the price our Lord paid for our sins and that we remember He’s a jealous God. We need to be like faithful Job and understand that initially we only know ABOUT God. It isn’t until AFTER the fiery trials are over, that we can say we KNOW Him and truly, it’ll be worth every pain we ever suffered.

I know that most of us have been taught that the Devil IN THE BEGINNING was perfect and sinless, but the Bible states that he was a murderer (not an angel) from the beginning. (John 8: 44) Another confirming scripture is 1 John 3: 8 which states that “He that commits sin is of the devil; for the devil SINS FROM THE BEGINNING, and a third witness of this truth is in the Book of Revelation in which the Devil is called “that old serpent.”

“The word “old” is from the Greek word “archaios” which means ORIGINAL or PRIMEVAL. “Primeval” means FROM THE FIRST AGE OR AGES: PRIMITIVE. “Archaios” is from the Greek word “arche” which means “TO COMMENCE IN ORDER OF TIME. Putting this all together we can see that Satan is that old serpent, that ancient serpent, that original serpent, that primeval serpent, the serpent of the first age, from the beginning, who existed as a serpent right FROM THE COMMENCEMENT OF TIME!” (J. Preston Eby)

Take note that it was GOD’s idea that Satan persecuted Job, NOT the Devil’s. Job, though he was a perfect man, had to be tested, tried and proven, and so do we. Even our Lord was led into the wilderness to be tempted (tested) OF THE DEVIL. (Matthew 4: 1-3) The Devil was also created for other purposes: The Apostle Paul told the Corinthian believers to “deliver such a one (the man who had committed fornication with his father’s wife) to Satan FOR THE DESTRUCTION OF THE FLESH that the spirit might be saved in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” He also told Timothy that he had delivered certain brethren to Satan that they might LEARN not to blaspheme and Paul himself, had THE MESSENGER OF SATAN to buffet him in order that he be not exalted above measure. Can you see it?: The Devil has a MINISTRY!

The Bible makes it plain after stating the waster was made to DESTROY, that the smith blows the coals in the fire to bring forth AN INSTRUMENT for His work. (Isaiah 54: 16) Another reason God created the Devil was because there had to be an opposing force in order for us to grow strong. Truly, we can not be trusted until we’ve been proven and it takes tribulation (Yes, the Devil’s ministry) in order to become AN INSTRUMENT for the work God has ordained for us. Our Lord did not go forth in His ministry until after He was tested, and likewise the sons of God must be proven like their elder brother was before they can be released to set creation free. Oh what a day when the Devil finds nothing in us!

So you who are in the furnace of affliction now: Know that after you pass your test, you’ll be getting better than an “A.” You’ll be the manifestation of an “A PLUS”… even the “Alpha” that the whole world is waiting for. Think of it: Without Satan we wouldn’t be able to change from created sons into regenerated, divine ones. It’s only through the fires of tribulation that the opposing one instigates that we can we enter into God’s kingdom of peace, joy and righteousness.

This morning upon awakening I heard “carved out ones are coming!” Interesting, huh? Our meat is to do the will of God and don’t you know fire is needed to cook meat? It’s the Devil who brings that fire to get it “well done” and to cause us to become meat, just as the Lord’s body became meat for us. We are not turkeys, my brethren: We are God’s choicest prime ribs!

Oh yes, we have a destiny carved out for us and thanks to the Devil fulfilling his part, we can fulfill ours. Hallelujah that our God is the Most High God Who rules in our affairs using a bad devil for a good end. Now you know WHY there’s a devil and can rejoice he’s got a ministry so we can have a better one after learning obedience through the things we suffer.

Don’t you love it? We thought an angel turned into the Devil, but now we know the devil was exactly what God intended him to be so He could demonstrate His power…. His mercy…. His love. We could never have known how much God loves us without His opposite to show us the difference. When God in the heavens laughs at the heathen raging, He laughs at all that the devil can do.

Isn’t it time that we did, too?