How to Prepare for the Latter Days

Daily Devotional – Monday, July 7, 2025
Listen to counsel and receive instruction that you may be wise in your latter days.
Proverbs 19:20 (NKJV)

I spend a huge chunk of my time listening to youngsters and dispensing counsel to them. I have realized that youth tend to disregard counsel from the elderly, ostensibly because the latter are out of touch with current realities.

Listen to Counsel

Interestingly, as I grow older, I realize that a lot of the wisdom I have today comes from counsel I received in my younger years. Then, my elders may not have made sense, but today, my life is richer because of them.

That is why I find today’s key text significant. According to the Septuagint (the Greek version of the Old Testament), Solomon was addressing children when he wrote, “Listen to counsel and receive instruction that you may be wise in your latter days.”

In essence, when parents, teachers, pastors, the elderly, and wise leaders offer counsel, we should not ignore it. The Pulpit’s Commentary asserts, “Wisdom gathered and digested in youth is seen in the prudence and intelligence of manhood and old age.”

How to Prepare for the Latter Days

The opposite is true. When older people exhibit little wisdom, then we can conclude, with a high degree of certainty, that they rejected counsel when they were younger. The more counsel you gather and use while growing up, the happier you will be in old age.

This principle, however, applies to all age groups. Listen to counsel and receive instructions today that you may act wisely in the latter days. More importantly, ask God for wisdom (James 1:5).

Prayer
Almighty God, teach me how to harness wisdom from Your word and from the wise people You have placed around me that I may be wise in my latter days.