Small-town physician Ezdan nurtured a grand dream for his young daughter Eleanor. She has Down Syndrome, and he hoped to open a business to provide paid work for her future. Feeling “terrified” to pursue his dream, he took an online course on how to start a business. Then he and his wife launched a family bakery in their Wyoming town, and it’s thriving. “It has become a real business, with a staff,” Ezdan said. Eleanor, now grown, works the cash register and connects with online customers. “Everybody in town knows who she is,” says Ezdan. His leap of faith in planning for Eleanor’s future reflects his choice to be prudent.

It's a classic biblical virtue. Prudence is an element of wisdom that God ordains for our current and future planning. “The folly of fools is deception,” says Proverb 14:8. But “the wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways.” Rather than worry about the future, or do nothing about it, prudent people look to God for wisdom to plan for it.

In fact, prudence is related to the Latin word providens, or “provident”—meaning to foresee for future provision. “The simple believe anything, but the prudent give thought to their steps” (v. 15). Foreseeing what could happen, they work sensibly to build a safety net—a strong course of action for the wise!

With clear-eyed faith, may we live prudently, in step with God.