<\/p>\n
A wise man will hear and increase in learning, and a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel.
\n\u2013Proverbs 1:5<\/p><\/blockquote>\nGod could write His will for you in the sky. But there are qualities He desires in your life that you develop in the process of discovering His will. By submitting to authority figures, you develop the quality of obedience. By seeking and evaluating the advice of wise counselors, you develop discernment. And by turning to fellow Christians, you develop dependence.<\/p>\n
As you listen to these people, let me give you three things to keep in mind. First of all, don\u2019t use wise counsel as a cop-out. For most people, the real problem is not\u00a0discovering<\/em>\u00a0the will of God but\u00a0doing<\/em>\u00a0the will of God. They keep asking for advice without ever making a decision. But there comes a time when you need to stop seeking advice and just do what you know you need to do.<\/p>\n
Second, the counsel you receive may be wrong. That was true of the Israelites in Numbers 13. They sent twelve spies into the promised land to see if they could take possession of it, and the majority said, \u201cThe challenge is too great.\u201d Only two spies said, \u201cWith God\u2019s help, we can take possession of the land.\u201d Many times, the counsel you receive will be wrong.<\/p>\n
Finally, any counsel you receive must be measured against the Word of God. Sometimes people want a new revelation from God about a dilemma they\u2019re facing when He has already addressed that issue. We see this in 1 Kings 13. God had told a prophet, in essence, \u201cGo to Bethel and destroy a pagan altar. Then go directly home. Do not pass go; do not collect $200.\u201d<\/p>\n
This prophet was on his way home when an older prophet stopped him and invited him over for a meal. The younger prophet protested, but the older man said, \u201cGod has given me a newer revelation than what He told you.\u201d So instead of going directly home, as God had told him, the younger prophet went to the older prophet\u2019s home. Look at what happened next: \u201cThe word of the\u00a0Lord\u00a0came to the [older prophet]; and he cried to the [younger prophet], saying, \u2018Thus says the\u00a0Lord, \u201cBecause you have disobeyed the command of the\u00a0Lord, . . . your body shall not come to the grave of your fathers\u201d\u2019 (vv. 20\u201322). And when the younger prophet left to go home, verse 24 says, \u201ca lion met him on the way and killed him, and his body was thrown on the road.\u201d<\/p>\n
What\u2019s the point of this bizarre story? God was teaching us that we are never to contradict what He has already clearly spoken. If somebody is counseling you to do something that violates the Word of God, don\u2019t follow their advice. All counsel must be measured against the Word of God.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A wise man will hear and increase in learning, and a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel. \u2013Proverbs 1:5 God could write His will for you in the sky. But there are qualities He desires in your life that you develop in the process of discovering His will. By submitting to authority figures, … Continue reading “Pathway to Victory – Devotion”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-184489","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-daily-prayers"],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prayingpint.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184489","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prayingpint.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prayingpint.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prayingpint.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prayingpint.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=184489"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.prayingpint.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184489\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":184542,"href":"https:\/\/www.prayingpint.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184489\/revisions\/184542"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prayingpint.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=184489"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prayingpint.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=184489"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prayingpint.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=184489"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}