God Outside the Boxნიმუში

When God’s Words Surprise Us

We all know we should not put God “in a box,” to prescribe what He can or would do.

But if we’re honest, we usually think of that in terms of not limiting God’s goodness. Not underestimating His grace and generosity.

But we keep Him in a box in far different ways than that, and Job’s story reminds us that our knowledge of God is perhaps shaky.

The opening scene of Job is jarring. Satan enters the heavenly court, and after the Accuser speaks, God calls his attention to Job: “Have you considered my servant Job?” (Job 1:8 NIV).

It is not Satan who points at Job; it is God.

That is surprising, even unsettling. We might expect God to shield Job, to hide him from Satan’s gaze.

Instead, God highlights Job’s faithfulness. Job is God’s trophy. Job becomes the example—he is “blameless and upright,” a man whose integrity reflects the fear of God.

But with that commendation comes testing. It is God who puts Job on Satan’s radar. It is God who gives permission for Job’s suffering.

What do we do with a God like this?

For men, it can be uncomfortable. We want God to protect us, to insulate us from suffering—indeed, to act as Satan says God has toward Job (see verse 10).

Yet this passage suggests something deeper: God’s purposes are bigger than our comfort. Job is not chosen for ruin but for revelation. Through Job’s life, the heavenly court—and eventually Job himself—will come to see that integrity and devotion to God cannot be dependent on blessing.

If God were to point us out—if He were to say, “Have you considered my servant?”—would we be ready for the weight of being known by Him?

Our instinct is to equate blessing with favor and suffering with abandonment. But Job’s story breaks those categories. Sometimes, God entrusts men with hardship not because they are weak, but because He knows their faith can bear witness to His worth.

This doesn’t make suffering easier. But it reframes it.

When our identity is rooted in God’s declaration, we may find ourselves walking paths we never would have chosen. Yet in those very places, our lives speak most clearly of the God who calls us His own.

The surprising truth is that God may not hide us from the test—but He never forgets us in it.

Prayer: God who knows more and better than I do, thank You that my understanding is not the end of the story. Help me to look for You and Your purposes in the circumstances of my life. Amen.

Reflection: What does it mean to know that it can be God who calls attention to us in ways that may lead to our suffering?