“Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.” (Job 1:9–11 NIV)
Heavenly Father, I sometimes wonder if Satan watches American religious television. Because much of the programming easily substantiates this charge in the Book of Job—that the only reason we love you is because you make our lives easy and give us good gifts.
It’s easy to be cynical about “prosperity theology,” which makes you to be more like a Sugar Daddy than Abba Father. But nothing is presently presenting a challenge to my faith and I don’t presume on any of your kind providences. I take none of your good gifts for granted. The gospel has convinced me that everything I have comes from you (1 Cor. 4:7). By your grace, keep me free from a spirit of entitlement.
But Satan’s question always remains current: Why do we love you? What’s our motivation for worshiping you? How will we think about you the next time we suffer loss, betrayal, and pain? That, no doubt, will happen.
As your beloved children, we want to worship, adore, and trust you simply because you are God. There’s no other god besides you, and there’s certainly no other god like you. The gospel of your grace is all the proof we need.
We are grateful for your gifts, but we want to glorify you, Father, when life’s easy and when it’s hard; when our health is great and when we struggle for our next breath; when our kids love you and when they ignore you; whether we get a promotion or a pink slip; when marriage is great and when it’s a lonely place; when the harsh boss leaves and when the cancer returns. In every circumstance and story, we want to love, adore, and honor you. So very Amen we pray, in Jesus’ bold and beautiful name.
