[The LORD] holds victory in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless (Proverbs 2:7).

I've got to be honest with you:  This whole "victory for the upright" and "shield for the blameless" concept is kind of difficult for me.  I mean, doesn't it seem to be totally unrealistic?  Of course, there's the old dialogue about whether the Proverbs are meant to be prescriptive or descriptive (telling how things should be versus telling how things simply are) -- but honestly, I don't see Proverbs 2:7 fitting into either one of these paradigms!  We'd all like it to be true (and so, in that sense, I guess that it's the way things "should be"), yet I don't think any of us would feel right telling another person to expect that if they live upright and blameless lives, then they will most certainly experience victory and divine protection.  We all know better than that, don't we?

I mean, seriously:  How does this Proverb fit with the story of the Ten Boom family, living in Haarlem in the Second World War?  They were upright in saving Jewish people from Nazi genocide, weren't they?  Corrie ten Boom, the sole survivor of the family, wrote that her father Kasper and her sister Betsy seemed to be particularly blameless -- and yet they both died at the hands of the Nazis.  Horrible, gruesome, concentration-camp deaths!  And how does this Proverb fit with the story of Jim Elliot, Roger Youderian, Pete Fleming, Ed McCully, and Nate Saint, a.k.a. the "Auca Martyrs" of the 1950s?  Their desires to share the Good News of Jesus with the remote Ecuadorian tribe would certainly seem upright.  And while their approach certainly was not perfect, I'd say it could nevertheless be categorized as generally blameless -- and yet all five of them were speared to death in the Curaray River.  Horrifying, gruesome, martyrdom!  And of course, these instances are only the tip of the proverbial ice-berg.  What about Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr.?  What about the children drowned in the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami or crushed to death in the 2010 Haitian Earthquake?  How does Proverbs 2:7 fit with these disturbing incidents of horrible things happening to upright, innocent, blameless people?

This is one of the most troubling aspects of faith, isn't it?  I simply don't have answers for all of these questions.  But here are a few potential points of consideration... (1) Could it be that pain and suffering might help to serve some higher purpose?  And (2) Could it be that our rest and our reward might transcend the world that we know?

I personally believe that pain and suffering can be very instructive instruments in our lives.  We like to think that being sheltered is what's best for us and allows us to be as strong as possible -- but it often seems to be that the people who have experienced more difficulties in life are actually the ones who are stronger the next time difficulties come around.  A tree needs the storms to push it and pull it and force the development of stronger, deeper root systems.  It needs the winds rip out its weaker branches and create room for better growth.  If a tree is grown in a completely-sheltered environment and only then, after reaching full maturity, exposed to the elements, it will topple within a week.  In the same way with people and societies, it seems that tragedy can sometimes make us better, more dependent on each other and on God, and ultimately stronger for the next time that difficulty comes along.  This doesn't make the pain and suffering any easier, naturally, but it could explain a little bit of the "shield effect" of Proverbs 2:7.  Perhaps we create some of our own shield, when we respond to adversity in a positive way.

To me, however, the greatest reassurance of all is the idea of an eternal rest that we can experience regardless of whatever pain and suffering we might experience here in this life.  When a believer dies, we talk about the person "going to his (or her) eternal reward" or "entering their heavenly rest."  And I really do believe that this is true.  The Bible says so; my heart tells me this as well.  Even if I experience nothing but misery all the days of my life, I can experience victory in Jesus, if I walk uprightly by faith.  No matter what horrors of human depravity that I might be forced to experience on this side of eternity -- even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death -- I can trust that my Heavenly Shepherd will one day lead me beside quiet streams and green pastures where I will rest.

Perhaps this is too quickly explaining away the "problems" of Proverbs 2:7.  I think it's all very interesting and very valuable stuff to consider.  It's good to ask ourselves questions.  It's good to consider the truths of God's Word -- even when it seems like total crap, at first glance...