Why Does God Permit Satan to Test Job?

God allows Satan to test Job to perfect Job’s love for God, and thereby bring about a greater good. In the process, God never abandons Job, but draws him closer through his ordeal.

We have New Testament analogues re: our own discipleship, as Jesus tells us, “Whoever wants to be my follower must renounce himself, take up his cross, and follow me” (Matthew 16:24), and St. Paul reassures us, “We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).

Similarly, God the Father permits his divine Son Jesus to endure the ordeal of the Cross, and yet brings about the greater good of humanity’s Redemption (see CCC 412).