Silas
Beloved of All
You have asked for protection and for wisdom, and these two go together. When you and your son look to the Lord for true discernment, you are not simply gathering information; you are taking hold of the very thing that shields and delivers. The wisdom that comes from above is not a set of clever techniques. It is the Lord himself drawing near, for all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Christ. So when you cry out for guidance and strength, you are asking him to be your companion in the middle of the pressure you feel from those around you.
People misuse words, just as the world misuses wisdom. Many boast of a love or a loyalty that is really flattery, a tool to get something from you. There are those whose mouths speak smooth things while their feet walk in a forward way. But wisdom and understanding will keep you from the man who speaks perverse things and from the stranger who flatters with her lips. Do not be surprised that some who should have your good in mind, neighbors, coworkers, even family, can become sources of conflict. The Scriptures warned us that we would need deliverance from the evil man and from the strange woman, from those who leave the paths of uprightness. So you are wise to pray that no weapon formed against you and your son shall prosper. That is not a wish; it is a promise anchored in the Lord who knows how to guard those who trust in him.
Make wisdom your closest kin. Treat discernment as a beloved sister you do not let out of your sight. When you embrace her, she preserves you. Love her, and she will keep you. This is the wisdom that is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits. It does not breed the envy and strife that mark the wisdom of this world, the sort that leaves people exhausted and empty. The world’s best reasoning comes to nothing in the end. But the wisdom that is from above will cause you to walk with your eyes straight ahead, pondering the path of your feet, not turning to the right or the left in panic over what others may do.
Do not fret because of those who seem to prosper in their trespassing. Fretting only leads to more harm. Instead, keep doing what your hand finds to do with a quiet strength that does not depend on your own resources. The poor wise man who delivered his city by wisdom may have been forgotten by men, but his wisdom was better than strength. Your strength, too, will be renewed not by your own might but by looking to the Lord. He will not let you down.
So let every request for protection be married to a deeper cry: “Get wisdom, get understanding.” In the fear of the Lord you will find a sure defense, for by wisdom the Lord founded the earth and by understanding he established the heavens. He who set the boundaries of the deep can set a hedge around you and your son. And his wisdom will not only guard you outwardly; it will work inside you a spirit that is calm, not easily provoked, able to yield when everything in you wants to fight. Yielding can pacify great offenses, and that kind of self-control comes from the Spirit of wisdom, not from fleshly reaction.
You are not forgotten. The Lord sees every word spoken against you, every scheme that would trip you up. The same God who declared, “No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper,” is the God who gives wisdom generously to all who ask without doubting. So hold fast to the truth, sell it not. Keep crying out for discernment, and as you do, you are binding yourself closer to the One who is all-wise, who was set up from everlasting, before the earth ever was. He will give you both the protection you need and the quiet confidence that his counsel stands forever.
People misuse words, just as the world misuses wisdom. Many boast of a love or a loyalty that is really flattery, a tool to get something from you. There are those whose mouths speak smooth things while their feet walk in a forward way. But wisdom and understanding will keep you from the man who speaks perverse things and from the stranger who flatters with her lips. Do not be surprised that some who should have your good in mind, neighbors, coworkers, even family, can become sources of conflict. The Scriptures warned us that we would need deliverance from the evil man and from the strange woman, from those who leave the paths of uprightness. So you are wise to pray that no weapon formed against you and your son shall prosper. That is not a wish; it is a promise anchored in the Lord who knows how to guard those who trust in him.
Make wisdom your closest kin. Treat discernment as a beloved sister you do not let out of your sight. When you embrace her, she preserves you. Love her, and she will keep you. This is the wisdom that is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits. It does not breed the envy and strife that mark the wisdom of this world, the sort that leaves people exhausted and empty. The world’s best reasoning comes to nothing in the end. But the wisdom that is from above will cause you to walk with your eyes straight ahead, pondering the path of your feet, not turning to the right or the left in panic over what others may do.
Do not fret because of those who seem to prosper in their trespassing. Fretting only leads to more harm. Instead, keep doing what your hand finds to do with a quiet strength that does not depend on your own resources. The poor wise man who delivered his city by wisdom may have been forgotten by men, but his wisdom was better than strength. Your strength, too, will be renewed not by your own might but by looking to the Lord. He will not let you down.
So let every request for protection be married to a deeper cry: “Get wisdom, get understanding.” In the fear of the Lord you will find a sure defense, for by wisdom the Lord founded the earth and by understanding he established the heavens. He who set the boundaries of the deep can set a hedge around you and your son. And his wisdom will not only guard you outwardly; it will work inside you a spirit that is calm, not easily provoked, able to yield when everything in you wants to fight. Yielding can pacify great offenses, and that kind of self-control comes from the Spirit of wisdom, not from fleshly reaction.
You are not forgotten. The Lord sees every word spoken against you, every scheme that would trip you up. The same God who declared, “No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper,” is the God who gives wisdom generously to all who ask without doubting. So hold fast to the truth, sell it not. Keep crying out for discernment, and as you do, you are binding yourself closer to the One who is all-wise, who was set up from everlasting, before the earth ever was. He will give you both the protection you need and the quiet confidence that his counsel stands forever.
