Day 121, Year 1

God’s Discretion Will Guard You

“Discretion will guard you, Understanding will watch over you, To deliver you from the way of evil, From the man who speaks perverse things.” (Proverbs 2:11-12 NASB)

The Scripture mentions that those who walk in wisdom will be delivered. How does wisdom deliver believers? The verses before today’s mention that wisdom will enter our heart after God’s people acquire righteousness and uprightness (Proverbs 2:9-10). Then, it states that “discretion will guard you.” The word “discretion” in Hebrew is mezimmah, which also means “purpose, intent, device, schemes, plot, evil devices, wicked schemes, or (speak) wickedly.” It could have both positive and negative connotations, and in the Old Testament, it often carries negative ones. Indeed, the schemes and words that arise from the heart could be good or bad. Upon receiving wisdom from the true God, we would produce useful and constructive strategies and words from our hearts that follow His will to respond to different situations and solve various problems.

The word “guard” in today’s verse, shamar in Hebrew, could also be translated as “to watch, preserve, keep, protect, attend, or restrain.” Similar to the “understanding” mentioned in this verse, the discretion that comes from God will protect us and be readily available for us to use, and thus is constructive. It is worth noting that God’s wise discretion would restrain us, thereby protecting us from evil and benefiting us. The strategies coming from God would defeat all evil schemes and enable us to flee from temptations successfully. We who believe in God do not usually opt for evil schemes that harm ourselves and others. 

The wisdom here refers to the ability to handle different things. Specifically, wisdom manifests as discretion, which is the strategy for dealing with various matters, including speaking the right words. For example, Psalm chapter 18 verse 34 mentions that God teaches the psalmist’s hands for war. In a broader sense, He could also teach our hands to do other work, such as drawing, writing, etc. In summary, “discretion” refers to the connection between our hearts, minds, hands, and mouths, which facilitates the preparation for specific behaviors and is expected to achieve certain results. Sometimes people’s hands, hearts, mouths, and minds are not coordinated well, or even temporarily disconnected. But God’s discretion could rebuild the effective connections between various parts in us so as to fulfill His will. When He protects us, He will deliver us from the wicked and their schemes and use us for His good purposes.

Reflection questions:

1) Are the connections between your heart, mind, mouth, and hands all smooth and unimpeded? How would you unclog the blockages with God’s wisdom, if any?

2) Do you think that accepting the constraints of the divine faith is accepting God’s protection? Why?