Refined in the Fight

“The Lord is righteous in all His ways, Gracious in all His works.” – Psalm 145:17

There is a question many believers wrestle with but rarely say out loud: If Jesus defeated Satan at the cross, why does God still allow the enemy to tempt us, pressure us, and attack us? Has God abandoned me? Scripture never gives us a full explanation, but it does give us something far better—an anchor. “The Lord is righteous in all His ways, gracious in all His works” (Psalm 145:17, NKJV). Even when we cannot trace His hand, we can trust His heart. God is always working for the highest good of His people, even through things He does not directly cause. One of the surprising truths of Scripture is that God sometimes uses the very attacks of the enemy as tools to shape us, refine us, and strengthen us. The devil brings friction, but God uses that friction to polish His saints.

When I was a kid, marbles were a big deal. We carried them in little bags, admiring how smooth and perfectly rounded they were. But marbles don’t start that way. They begin as rough pieces of glass tossed into a machine that spins them, grinds them, and rubs them against each other. The constant friction—the very thing that seems destructive—is what shapes them into something beautiful. That is what God does with us. The enemy intends to bruise us, but God uses the pressure to build us. The enemy tries to wear us down, but God uses the friction to smooth out our rough edges. The enemy wants to destroy us, but God uses the struggle to develop us. Joseph said it best: “You meant evil against me; but God meant it for good” (Genesis 50:20, NKJV). Paul learned the same truth through his thorn (2 Corinthians 12:7–9). Even Jesus was “led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil” (Matthew 4:1, NKJV). The temptation was real, but the purpose was divine.

So while the Bible does not tell us why God allows every attack, it does tell us how He uses them. He uses them to purify our faith, deepen our dependence, sharpen our discernment, and strengthen our character. He uses them to make us more like Christ. And this is why Romans 8:28 becomes more than a memory verse—it becomes a lifeline: “All things work together for good to those who love God.” Not some things. Not the easy things. All things—even the friction of spiritual warfare.

When the enemy presses in, do not assume God has abandoned you. Do not assume something has gone wrong. God is at work in the very place the enemy is attacking. The devil may come to rough you up, but God is using the pressure to polish you into the image of His Son. And when God is finished, you will shine with a strength, a faith, and a maturity that could not have been formed any other way.

“Trials are intended to make us think, to wean us from the world, and to send us to the Bible.” — J.C. Ryle