08292020 Suffering Has Limits

Dear Missionary Lady,

Greetings in the name of the all-powerful God. There are a lot of powerful forces and people in the world, but not one of them comes close to God. Thus the book of Job teaches.

Lesson #3. The extent of suffering is always under God's control. "And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand" (1:12). "And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life" (2:6).

Satan had no qualms about destroying Job, and no doubt he would have placed no limits on his vicious attacks. Twice, though, God placed limits on Satan. God first restricted Satan from touching Job's person. When Satan protested that the permitted attacks were too mild to be effective (!), God set new parameters. He allowed Satan to touch Job's health, but still restricted him from taking his life.

Satan is powerful, but he is also limited. He is confined to operating within the boundaries that God sets for him. While we might think the attacks are too vicious and too difficult, God knows what limits can be borne, and He sets boundaries accordingly. Satan can't do anything unless God permits him to do it.

I am reminded of Peter, to whom Jesus revealed, "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not" (Luke 22:31-32). In that case also, Satan knew what he wanted to do. Again, he wanted to absolutely destroy. But God did not permit it. God placed boundaries, and He took steps to deny Satan's desire.

Satan is not the only being that God controls. Kings and other powerful rulers are also under the control of God. They can do only as much as God allows them to do (Psalm 2). God has often used wicked kings to accomplish His purposes of judgment (Nebuchadnezzar). But those wicked nations do not have impunity to carry out their depravity or power without limitations. Their time comes. Their power fails. Their reign ceases.

Not only does God curtail kings in their pursuits, but He also controls them by sometimes making them do something they would never have dreamed of. Did Pharaoh have any intention of letting the Israelites go, even for a brief and short foray into the wilderness? Pharaoh was determined not to let any of them go any distance for any amount of time. But what did he end up doing? He ended up commanding the entire nation to leave, with all their flocks and herds, never to be seen again. Truly, "The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will" (Proverbs 21:1).

Satan and his attacks are under God's control. Kings and their plans are under God's control. Nature itself is under God's control. There is no galaxy, no system, no scientific cycle that is outside God's control. When God created the world, He created boundaries that no force of nature can breach. God says about the oceans, "And brake up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors, and said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed?" (Job 38:10-11). God determines where every ocean stops. He determines how high every mountain rises. He determines the severity of every storm, the length of every season, the brightness of every star.

Does it ever seem like things are out of control? Does it seem like evil and calamity are unrestrained? Does it seem that there is no end of trouble? Well, appearances are deceiving to our faltering eyes, because the truth is that absolutely nothing is out of God's control. We may not see where the trouble will end, but God does. We may think that suffering is running with no boundaries, but God knows exactly where those boundaries are. He knows, because He is the one who set the boundaries.

A necessary application of the fact that God sets boundaries is that every trial has boundaries. We may be so deep in the midst of a trial that we cannot see any limitations in severity or timing, but those limitations do exist. They are determined by God, and they cannot be breached. Every situation that you are in is controlled by God. This far, but NO FURTHER!

"For which cause we faint not ... for our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory" (II Corinthians 4:16-17).

Love in Christ,

Peggy Holt

member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA

Archived letters: www.dearmissionarylady.blogspot.com.