Daily Devotional
Proverbs 22:3 A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.
One mistake we often make is to be prepared only for the best case scenario without putting in place the necessary safeguards in the event that the worst happens. In that case, if the worst happens then the result will be failure. To avoid that, the approach we should take to life is to expect the best but be prepared for the worst. That was the approach taken by Nehemiah and the people when they sought to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem in Nehemiah 4. They expected to complete the construction of the wall because it was God’s will; nevertheless, they did not take that for granted. Because there was the possibility that they could have been attacked by their enemies, they chose to prepare for the worst by having half the men working while the other half kept watch with weapons in hand. In addition, those who worked were holding a sword in one hand. Their actions exemplified them working towards God’s will while being ready in case the worst happens.
Being prepared in the event the worst happens is a trait of the wise evident by Proverbs 22:4 starting with the phrase “a prudent man”. Preparing for the worst is something that the wise do. The scripture identifies two steps that must be taken to be ready for the worst. The first step is to continuously look ahead into the future to see the worst that could happen. In making this point, the scripture said the prudent man “foreseeth the evil ”. The word foreseeth ended with “eth” to indicate that looking ahead to identify potential danger should not be something you do one time, it has to be continuous.
The second step suggested by the scripture is to put in place the necessary safeguards to mitigate the risks that are foreseen. In response to the danger foreseen, the scripture says that the prudent man “hideth himself”. The takeaway from that is that we must continually take whatever steps that are needed to prevent the worst from happening. You are not fully prepared until you are prepared for every outcome. Become fully prepared by being ready in case the worst happens.
Life Application: Be ready in case the worst happens by continually looking ahead to foresee potential dangers that lie ahead and implementing strategies that prevent those outcomes.
Prayer: Lord, you have imparted wisdom unto us. Help us to foresee and prepare for all possible outcomes as we move by you Spirit. In Jesus’
Daily Devotional 
Leave a Reply