Articles
Seeking Counsel
How often do we go about our lives, unaware that we have a problem? Sometimes our self-perception becomes skewed, and our daily walk strays from the path of godliness. God has blessed each of us with counselors that can help us correct our course when we have veered away. How often do we seek counsel?
James speaks about the need and value of outside evaluation. In James 1:23-24, he likens looking in the Word to a man looking in a mirror. A mirror allows us to see what we look like, a view not masked by our own wishful thinking. The first step in making necessary change in our lives is having an accurate self-perception based on an accurate guide. We need to seek counsel from the Word of God. Upon seeking this counsel and seeing our shortcomings, we must act upon what we learn, change our self-perception, and remember the guidance and help God’s Word gives us. God’s counsel will “lead me to the rock that is higher than I” (Psa 61:2).
Another valuable source of counsel is our friends. We must be more cautious here. We should not seek counsel from worldly sources. There are many warnings in the Bible about false counselors who only lead us to destruction (2 Peter 2:17-19). Rather, we would do well to seek wise counsel from godly men and women. The book of Proverbs is full of encouragement for us to seek wise counsel. We learn that “in an abundance of counselors there is safety” (11:14), there is success to be found with many advisers (15:22), and there is victory in an abundance of counselors (24:6). It is obvious that we should seek counsel when we experience difficulty. One of the wonderful blessings afforded us through the church is the abundance of wise counsel from our faithful brothers and sisters.
For godly counsel to be truly effective, we must be willing to accept and respond to reproof, rebuke, and exhortation whether from God’s word or from godly people. After carefully weighing our current state against the counsel we have sought, we must be willing to make the necessary changes. In order to reach what is better, we may have to leave our comfort zone. However, we can always trust in the counsel our Lord has provided for us. We are reminded in Isaiah 41:10 that we should “fear no, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous hand.” With a promise like that, we should be motivated everyday to seek counsel from godly sources, knowing that the Lord is providing us with a way to grow closer to Him.
