Proverbs 13:21 Commentary and Bible Study

How many things are beyond our control and must be left in the hands of God! It is by his hand that we receive good or ill, and the Christian knows that the one thing that matters is to have God’s favour. The ups and downs of this life are a small matter in the eyes of God’s children because they know that they have an eternal inheritance which will not be taken away from them. In this world there is much that they do not understand, but they have seen in Scripture how God works in the lives of his people. At times his ways are hard to follow, but all things eventually work out for their good. They therefore face setbacks with peace of mind and are confident that God will not overlook their case. But the wicked are always at war with God, and the suspicion that he is working against them is well justified. Even though they seem to advance in the world and to break free from his curse for a time, events will take another turn and they will discover that there was an overruling hand in all the affairs of their lives, not one working for their good but for their destruction. It is as if evil has become a person (which it certainly has in the form of Satan) and pursues us with intelligent malice seeking to harm us. The phrase highlights the relentless efforts of evil to bring us down, studying our weaknesses and fitting temptation to our individual failings. The righteous however have the assurance, the deep joy, of knowing that God is secretly working for their good, so that his providence arranges blessings which are far beyond our ability to arrange for ourselves.