God vs. Devil: A Logical and Theological Response to SufferingSuffering, Sovereignty, and the Enemy’s LiesBy Brushwood Press

https://youtu.be/aXS4RwJB0qI

Many sincere believers struggle when hardship hits. We ask, “Is my suffering a sign I’m outside God’s will? Am I under demonic attack?” It’s tempting to label our circumstances as “good” or “bad” based on how painful or pleasant they are. Some even teach that stepping out of God’s will removes His protection and invites satanic attack. But is that what Scripture shows? In this devotional reflection, we turn to God’s Word for clear answers. We’ll see that suffering is often God’s tool for our sanctification and His glory, not a sure indication of demonic victory. In fact, the popular notion that every misfortune is from the devil can give Satan far more credit than he’s due. God is not absent in our trials – He is sovereign even over our suffering, working all things for the good of His children and the honor of His name.

God’s Sovereignty Over Suffering

Scripture leaves no doubt: nothing falls outside of God’s power or plans. Our Lord “works all things according to the counsel of His will” (Ephesians 1:11) and “does whatever pleases Him” (Psalm 115:3). If we only attribute the pleasant things in life to God and blame all the painful things on the devil, we diminish God’s sovereignty. “When we only attribute good things to God’s action, we limit him… by doing this we give power over to the enemy”. In other words, acting as if God can only be responsible for blessings—but not hardships—implies the devil can thwart God’s purposes. Yet the Bible shows the opposite: God uses both blessings and trials for His purposes. “Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that good and bad come?” Scripture asks. We see this truth throughout God’s Word.

Consider Job: in one awful day he lost his children, wealth, and health (Job 1:14-19). The suffering was severe, yet it was not outside God’s will. In fact, God explicitly permitted Satan’s assaults on Job within set limits (Job 1:12). Job himself recognized God’s hand, saying: “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21). Instead of attributing his tragedy only to satanic power, Job entrusted himself to God’s sovereignty. He declared that God is unchangeable and beyond challenge: “What He desires, that He does” (Job 23:13). Nothing — not even the devil’s schemes — could derail God’s plan for Job’s life. Similarly, Joseph endured betrayal and slavery through his brothers’ evil, yet later affirmed God’s good purpose in it: “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good” (Genesis 50:20). In both stories, faithful believers suffered greatly without being outside God’s will. Their hardships were not a sign of God’s abandonment, but a stage for God’s glory. God was sovereignly at work in and through their pain.

Even our Lord Jesus teaches this perspective. When His disciples assumed a man’s blindness was caused by sin or the devil, Jesus corrected them: “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him” (John 9:3). The man’s lifelong suffering was not proof of God’s curse or a victory of darkness at all – it was allowed so that God’s glory would be revealed. Likewise, when Peter tried to forbid Jesus from going to the cross (to avoid suffering), Jesus rebuked him sharply: “Get behind Me, Satan!… You are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man” (Matthew 16:23). Humanly, we want to declare suffering “bad” and avoid it at all costs. But Jesus exposed that attitude as one the enemy delights in – a “merely human” way of thinking opposed to God’s higher purpose. Clearly, God often wills what we would label “bad” in order to bring about a greater good.

Suffering Can Be Within God’s Will

If we accept that God is sovereign over everything, then we must also accept that suffering can be part of God’s will for His beloved children. The Apostle Peter explicitly writes, “Let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good” (1 Peter 4:19). This is remarkable – it means a season of suffering may actually be God’s will for us. Far from indicating you’ve strayed off course, your trial might be exactly the course God has chosen to deepen your faith. Peter’s instruction is not to panic or rebuke the devil, but to trust God in the midst of the hardship and continue obeying Him. Our suffering never catches God by surprise. It can’t, because nothing happens outside His providence.

Throughout Scripture, those most centered in God’s will often faced the fiercest trials. The prophets, the apostles, and even Jesus Himself all walked directly in the will of God – and that path led straight through hardship. Paul reminded Timothy that “all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12). In other words, if you are determined to do God’s will, expect some opposition or suffering. It comes with the territory of following a crucified Savior. But take heart: suffering for righteousness is a badge of belonging to Christ, not a sign of abandonment. Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart—I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Our trials are real, but so is Christ’s victory.

Don’t Overestimate the Devil’s Power

It’s important to debunk the popular belief that “being outside God’s will invites demonic attack.” This idea implies that Satan can independently wreak havoc on anyone who steps out of line, as if God hands him the keys whenever we stumble. That thinking misunderstands God’s sovereignty and gives the devil undue power. Satan is not an equal-opportunity destroyer, free to devour whomever he pleases whenever he pleases. He is a creature, on a leash held by the Lord. The book of Job shows Satan must ask God’s permission to afflict God’s servant (Job 1:9-12). Jesus told Peter, “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail” (Luke 22:31-32). Satan wanted to attack Peter and the other disciples, but even then he could not do so without God allowing that “sifting” for a greater purpose – in Peter’s case, to humble him and later strengthen others. The devil cannot just slip through a gap in God’s will and wreck your life. He always remains subject to God’s authority, whether he likes it or not.

Moreover, think logically: if a person truly were “outside of God’s will” and living in disobedience, why would the enemy need to attack them at all? A complacent, compromised Christian is no threat to Satan’s agenda. The devil’s aim is to oppose God’s work and God’s people. If someone is already wandering off in sin, in a sense the enemy’s goal is being met — that person isn’t effectively serving God. It’s when we step out in obedience that we march onto the battlefield. That’s why those who actively pursue Christ often experience more spiritual resistance than those who are spiritually idle. A church doing nothing for God is “not a threat to the enemy” and will be largely ignored, but a believer on fire for God can expect enemy fire. As an old saying goes: “If you never meet the devil head-on, you might be walking in the same direction.” In other words, opposition can be a sign you’re on the right path!

This isn’t to glorify Satan’s power – it’s to put it in perspective. The apostle Peter warns us to be vigilant against our adversary’s schemes, comparing him to a prowling lion (1 Peter 5:8). Yet Peter’s next words encourage us: “Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world” (1 Peter 5:9). In other words, suffering is a common experience for Christians everywhere. We are not alone in facing trials, and these trials are part of the normal Christian life, not a freak exception that means God has left us. Peter then gives a beautiful promise: “After you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace… will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you” (1 Peter 5:10). God sets a limit (“a little while”) on our suffering, and He personally ensures it will yield something eternally good in us. Far from Satan having the upper hand, God promises to personally restore and strengthen you after the trial. What comfort!

Trials as Tools for Sanctification

Why would a loving God allow His children to hurt at all? The Bible’s answer is consistent: because suffering can produce spiritual growth that comfort never could. God uses trials to refine our faith, discipline us as beloved children, and make us more like Christ. Hebrews reminds us, “the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives” (Hebrews 12:6). Hardship in our lives can be a sign of God’s fatherly love, not His neglect. Just as a good parent corrects and trains a child for their maturity, God sometimes lets us endure difficulties to train us in righteousness (Hebrews 12:7-11). It’s not punishment in wrath; it’s discipline in love – a clear indication that we belong to Him.

The New Testament opens with this paradox: “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. And let perseverance finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing” (James 1:2-4). Trials, though painful, are productive in God’s hands. They develop perseverance and Christlike maturity in us – things we simply do not gain when life is easy. No one enjoys suffering itself; even Jesus “for the joy set before Him endured the cross” (Hebrews 12:2), despising its shame. But He endured it because of the greater joy and glory it would accomplish. Likewise, God often allows us to be “pruned” by trials so we will bear more fruit (John 15:2).

Even what may originate as a demonic attack can be repurposed by God for our good. The clearest example is Paul’s “thorn in the flesh.” Paul says, “a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited” (2 Corinthians 12:7). This trial was literally described as demonic harassment. Yet why did God allow it? Paul answers: to keep him humble and dependent on God. Three times Paul begged the Lord to remove this suffering, and God refused, saying, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:8-9). Satan’s intent was to hurt Paul, but God’s intent was to sanctify Paul. God’s grace overruled the enemy’s malice, turning a potential stumbling block into a stepping stone for greater blessing. Paul testifies that as a result, he learned to delight in weaknesses and hardships, “for when I am weak, then I am strong” in Christ (2 Corinthians 12:10). What an encouraging truth: the very attacks of Satan can become avenues of greater grace in our lives, as we experience God’s sustaining power.

Surrender and Trust in God’s Good Purpose

Since God is sovereign and purposeful in our pain, our calling is not to live in fear of the next “attack,” but to surrender ourselves daily into our Father’s care. The enemy loves to stir panic and a false sense of control – the same false autonomy he pushed in Eden. Remember the Garden of Eden: The serpent enticed Eve with the idea that rebelling would make her “like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5). Instead of trusting God’s definition of good, Eve chose to seize autonomy, deciding for herself what was good. “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes… she took of its fruit and ate” (Genesis 3:6). This is the serpent’s logic: urging us to trust our own judgment of good and bad over God’s Word. Today, we fall into a similar trap whenever we hastily label our circumstances “good” or “bad” based solely on our perspective. If something pleases us, we assume it’s good; if it causes pain, we call it bad. But our Father knows better. He alone sees the end from the beginning. What we call “bad” today may be the very thing that yields immense good in eternity, and what we call “good” might lead us away from God if we aren’t careful.

True freedom and peace come not from trying to control our circumstances or ward off every hardship, but from yielding to God’s perfect will with trust. Proverbs 3:5-6 exhorts us to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding.” We “lean on our own understanding” when we insist on interpreting every situation by our limited sight. Instead, God invites us to trust His character when we cannot trace His hand. We may not know why we are in a storm, but we know Who sits enthroned over the flood (Psalm 29:10). The Lord is our Shepherd; even in the valley of the shadow of death, He is with us and His rod and staff comfort us (Psalm 23:4).

The antidote to Satan’s lie of self-reliance is surrender to God’s providence. Humble yourself under God’s mighty hand, knowing He cares for you (1 Peter 5:6-7). Reject the serpent’s whisper that you must grasp for control or that God is withholding something good. Instead, echo Jesus’ words in Gethsemane: “Not my will, but Yours be done.” When we resist the urge to play God and instead submit to God, the devil flees (James 4:7). We stop obsessing over whether each setback is an “attack” or not, and start seeing it all as under the wise hand of our Father. This surrender brings a profound peace. As one writer insightfully noted, blaming all our difficulties on the devil only puffs up our pride and provokes us to fight the wrong enemy – until we see God’s hand in all things, we may actually end up resisting God’s work in us. How much better to “entrust our souls to a faithful Creator” in the midst of trials, and continue to do good, knowing He will never fail us!

Secure in God’s Will, Even in the Storm

The message of Scripture is clear and liberating: Your trials are not a sign that God has left you, nor are they a loophole through which Satan can bypass God’s will. Rather, if you belong to Christ, you are securely within God’s will – even when walking through the fire. Our sovereign Lord can use every circumstance, whether seemingly good or evil, to accomplish His loving purposes. Suffering in the life of a believer is never wasted. It is either loving discipline, a means of refining faith, a platform for God’s glory, or all of the above.

Often it is precisely when we are weakest that God’s strength in us shines the brightest.

So when you find yourself in a season of pain or spiritual struggle, resist the urge to panic or assign more power to the devil than he actually has. Remember that the devil couldn’t even touch Job without God’s nod of permission, and that permission came with a divine purpose and strict limits. Far from indicating you’re “out from under” God’s will, your trial may be a sign that you’re right where God can deepen you most. Ask yourself: If I were truly running from God, would Satan bother to oppose me? More likely, it’s because you are pursuing God that the heat has turned up – and even then, God is in control of the thermostat.

Rest assured: God’s sovereignty is your sanctuary. He is utterly in control and utterly good. You can surrender to Him in the suffering, knowing He will carry you through and bring forth gold from the fire (Job 23:10, 1 Peter 1:6-7). Instead of living in fear of misstepping into an “attack,” live in faith that your Father holds you firmly in His hand. Nothing can touch you that doesn’t first pass through His loving fingers. The enemy who seeks to devour must bow before the God who promises, after you have suffered a little, to restore and strengthen you.

Take heart in your trials. Reject the serpent’s lie that God is not in control or that your hardship must be “all Satan.” Embrace the higher truth: even this suffering, strange and unwelcome as it is, can be a servant of God’s grace in your life. Surrender to God’s will and trust His heart. In due time, you will testify that He indeed “works all things together for good” for those who love Him (Romans 8:28) – and that includes the very suffering which once made you weep. Let this settled confidence be yours: nothing – truly nothing – can separate us from the love and sovereign care of God in Christ Jesus.

Justin Reed

Brushwood Press

https://youtu.be/aXS4RwJB0qI