What do Peter, David, and Job all have in common? Each of them was a servant of Yahweh and each of them loved Him. However, Yahweh allowed Satan to afflict each of them through terrible trials and tribulations. In doing so, He prepared each of them to be of greater service to Him for His glory!

Yahshua (Jesus) told His disciples that they were the ones that had continued with Him in His temptations, which means in His trials. They, those that had continued with Him in His trials, were also the ones that would be appointed to commune and reign with Him in His Kingdom (see Luke 22:28-30). After He had made this promise, Yahshua told Simon (He did not call him here by his other name, Peter) that Satan had asked for permission to put Simon through a sieve, as one might use to separate the pure kernel of wheat from the unwanted chaff:

Yahshua did not say, "I will pray that Satan stays away from you." Instead, since the permission had apparently already been granted to Satan to afflict Simon, Yahshua said that He would pray that Simon keeps his faith as he is put through his impending trial. Then, He told him, once "you are converted," which might be understood as meaning "once you are put back on the right track," use that experience to help your brethren to be stronger in their faith:

Almost sounding as though he was insulted by the suggestion that he would be vulnerable to the influence of Satan, Simon boldly proclaimed his readiness to pass any test!

Simon failed his test, not once, but three times in one night as he openly denied Yahshua! Satan’s sifting helped to purify Simon’s heart. After his third denial, Simon, now called Peter, was convicted of his sin and was apparently moved to the kind of bitter weeping that often accompanies the repentance of a broken and crushed heart:

When Yahweh chose David to be the King of Israel, He sent Samuel to anoint David with oil. "From that day forward," the Spirit of Yahweh came upon David:

However, this joyous occasion for David was the beginning of his troubles. Just as the Spirit of Yahweh came upon him, Yahweh removed His Spirit from King Saul and replaced it with an "evil spirit:"

The "evil spirit" used Saul to try and destroy David:

As David fled from the hand of Saul, he was confused. Like most of us who are hated and afflicted without cause, David could not understand what he had done to merit Saul’s hatred toward him. He asked his friend, Jonathan, who was also Saul’s son, "What have I done? What is my iniquity?"

David became a fugitive, running and hiding from the raging King Saul. That was when he was able to see more clearly what was in his heart, which he wrote in many of his Psalms. It was during times of seemingly unbearable trouble that Yahweh taught David to totally depend upon Him. David learned that the righteous suffer many afflictions, but that Yahweh is always faithful:

David also learned that the key to being delivered from his afflictions was to humble himself, praise and exalt the name of Yahweh, and to ask Him for deliverance:

This lesson was not only for David. It was for all of us. In our humility we learn to fear Him and trust Him:

Whether David could see it or not, these afflictions were helping him to fix his heart firmly upon Yahweh:

Through his trials, David was learning to trust and love Yahweh with all of his heart, soul, and might:

We are first introduced to Job as a "perfect and upright" man who "feared God, and shunned evil!"

Diligent in his desire to maintain his position in the eyes of God, and perhaps in the eyes of man, Job even offered sacrifices for his children, just in case they might have sinned:

As Job went about his life trying to do that which was right, Yahweh brought him to Satan’s attention. Describing Job as perfect and upright, Yahweh asked Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job?"

Yahweh was not asking Satan to consider Job for his wickedness, but for his apparent righteousness! While requiring that Satan preserve Job’s life, Yahweh turned him loose on His "perfect and upright" servant! Satan used that opportunity to afflict Job beyond imagination. Job lost everything, including his possessions, his family, (see Job 1:13-19) and even his health (see Job 2:7).

Nevertheless, through his entire trial, Job could not see what he had done to deserve the evil that was brought upon him. Job thought he understood more about Yahweh than he did. Yahweh ask him:

It was only after Job had endured major struggles in his life that he finally realized that he still had much to learn. Even though he thought he had the things of Yahweh all figured out, he finally realized that those things were too wonderful for him to comprehend. Job said to Yahweh:

It was Job’s affliction by Satan that brought him to realize more fully the greatness of Yahweh. It was also that affliction that caused Job to humble himself before Yahweh and to repent of his religious pride:

Yahweh allowed Satan to afflict Peter, David, and Job to teach them to take their eyes off themselves. Yahweh taught each of them to fix their hearts wholly upon Him so that they could accomplish His purpose for their lives. Even as we think were are firmly in God’s will, are our hearts firmly fixed on Him in love? Or do we utter things that "I understood not" and things "too wonderful for me," still needing to be taught?