Verse of the Day for August 19

Hear counsel, and receive instruction. Receive is a hands word. You receive what someone else is holding out to you. Instruction in this verse is not something you invent. It is something handed over.

Most of us already have more of it than we use. A father's advice about money. A teacher who told you the truth about your temper. A sermon you nodded at years ago. Wisdom is often not the next thing to find but the last thing you were given.

And the purpose is long range: that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end. Some instruction does not make sense until later. You carry it for years before you need it.

Verse 21 keeps us humble: There are many devices in a man's heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand. Our schemes are many. His counsel is one, and it holds. The instruction we have received from him and through faithful people outlasts our clever plans.

Today, instead of searching for fresh advice, go back to something you were already told. Find the old notebook, call the aunt who prayed for you, reread the chapter you underlined. Ask what you were handed that you have left unopened.

The counsel of the Lord does not expire with the season it was given.

Your latter end is being prepared by what you receive now.