You Are Enough, O Lord
He guards the paths of justice,
And preserves the way of His saints. (Proverbs 2:8, NKJV)
This is the end of a three-verse sentence. The whole sentence, along with the following one-verse addendum, says;
“For the LORD gives wisdom;
From His mouth come knowledge and understanding;
He stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
He is a shield to those who walk uprightly;
He guards the paths of justice,
And preserves the way of His saints.
Then you will understand righteousness and justice,
Equity and every good path.” (Proverbs 2:6-9 NKJV)
The first five verses in this chapter extol the value of the personification of wisdom, once again a woman, a priceless treasure. If we seek her diligently, “Then you will understand the fear of the LORD,/And find the knowledge of God.” (Verse 5). Once again, the fear (reverential awe) of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
Note that to have sound wisdom supplied and to be shielded by God Almighty requires that we, “walk uprightly.” The paths He guards are those marked by dealing fairly and righteously with others (justice). This divine oversight is priceless and a comfort beyond measure.
What about when it seems we have been deserted, when our heavenly overwatch team seems to have missed something? How should we then respond? I think of my friend who just this week succumbed to a years-long debilitating illness and is now among that great cloud of witnesses on the other side of death. That’s when we must hold on to the Word, knowing, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8 NKJV) The same God who promised to guard the paths and preserve the way of the Old Testament saints will do the same for us today.
It is often not until the crisis is past that we can look back and see the reasons for the Lord’s allowing various trials; sometimes we won’t ever understand, at least not on this side of glory. It is enough for us to, “understand righteousness and justice, equity and every good path.” If we trust Him and do what is right, He will work it out for our best. (Romans 8:28)
As the psalmist David said:
“Trust in the LORD, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.” (Psalms 37:3 NKJV)
It is enough, Lord. It is enough.