Job 1:12-16: a reflection

12The LORD said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power. Only on himself don’t stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD. 13It fell on a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, 14that a messenger came to Job, and said, “The oxen were plowing, and the donkeys feeding beside them, 15and the Sabeans attacked, and took them away. Yes, they have killed the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” 16While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “The fire of God has fallen from the sky, and has burned up the sheep and the servants, and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”

As the calamities that fall on Job begin, a detail easy to miss stands behind them all: God had set a limit on what could be done to him. Behold, all that he has is in your power, God says to the accuser; only on himself don't stretch out your hand. Job does not know it, but his trials, terrible as they are, do not fall without limit; they fall only within a boundary God has set, and no further. The accuser cannot do to Job whatever he pleases; he can go only as far as God permits, and no farther. Even as the disasters strike, one after another, they strike within limits God has fixed. Job's suffering is real and severe, but it is not boundless; it is bounded by the permission and the limit God has set, which the enemy cannot cross.

Notice what stands behind Job's calamities: a limit God has set, which cannot be crossed. The trials that fall on Job are severe, one blow after another; but they do not fall without boundary. God has set a limit, and the enemy can go only so far and no farther. Job does not see this limit; from within his suffering, it may feel boundless. But it is not; his trials are bounded by God's permission, held within limits God has fixed. This does not make the suffering less real or less painful; but it means the suffering is not without limit, not beyond God's control. Even our darkest trials, whatever their cause, do not exceed the boundaries God has set. The enemy cannot do to God's own whatever he pleases; he can go only as far as God permits. Our trials are bounded, even when we cannot see the boundary.

That is worth holding onto, for our trials, however severe, are bounded by limits God himself has set. When trials fall on us, one after another, they can feel boundless, as though there were no limit to what we might suffer; but behind Job's calamities stood a limit God had set, which the enemy could not cross. Our suffering, real and painful as it is, does not fall without boundary; it is held within limits God has fixed, not beyond his control. When your trials feel boundless, hold onto the truth that they are bounded by limits God himself has set. Hold onto the truth that your trials, however severe, are bounded by limits God himself has set and the enemy cannot cross, as Job's calamities fell only within the boundary God had fixed when he said, only on himself do not stretch out your hand; for our suffering, real and painful as it is, does not fall without limit, but is held within boundaries God has set, so that even our darkest trials are not beyond his control or boundless, however boundless they may feel from within.

Lord, as the calamities that fall on Job begin, a detail easy to miss stands behind them all: you had set a limit on what could be done to him. Behold, all that he has is in your power, you say to the accuser; only on himself don't stretch out your hand. Job does not know it, but his trials, terrible as they are, do not fall without limit; they fall only within a boundary you have set, and no further. The accuser cannot do to Job whatever he pleases; he can go only as far as you permit, and no farther. Even as the disasters strike, one after another, they strike within limits you have fixed. Job's suffering is real and severe, but it is not boundless. Show me what stands behind Job's calamities: a limit you have set, which cannot be crossed. The trials that fall on Job are severe, one blow after another; but they do not fall without boundary. You have set a limit, and the enemy can go only so far and no farther. Job does not see this limit; from within his suffering, it may feel boundless. But it is not; his trials are bounded by your permission. This does not make the suffering less real; but it means the suffering is not beyond your control. Let me hold onto that, for my trials, however severe, are bounded by limits you yourself have set. When trials fall on me, one after another, they can feel boundless, as though there were no limit to what I might suffer; but behind Job's calamities stood a limit you had set. My suffering does not fall without boundary; it is held within limits you have fixed. When my trials feel boundless, help me hold onto the truth that they are bounded by limits you yourself have set, Lord, which the enemy cannot cross, as Job's calamities fell only within the boundary you had fixed.