Sometimes the Fourth Time Is the Charm

(Proverbs 4:12 KJV)  When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble.

Have you ever claimed that you followed the directions and the item still did not go together correctly?  Think of toys assembled at Christmas.  For me this would be true of almost any auto repair that I attempt.  It never seems to come together.  I recently built some shelves in the garage.  I had an idea of what I was trying to do and yet I always seemed to be one board short or have the wrong length of screw.  I don’t know how many trips I made to the material store.  I don’t know how many boards I needed to lengthen.  But I got the job done.

Was my project “straitened” (impeded NASB) (6887a)?  Yes, because I interpret this as slowing me down and making things difficult.  The word has more an idea of stop or prevent.  I was out of my element.  If you want me to write a paragraph, consider it done.  If you want me to cut a board straight, go away and come back in a week and we will see if it is done.  Sometimes wisdom gives us the blueprint to keep going.  Sometimes wisdom gives us a standard that lets us know we are still not square.

So?  Wisdom will keep us going until we arrive.  I would rather take the express but sometimes the local is the only train available.