The Counsel of Wisdom

Seeking wisdom? It is one question away from all of us. We simply ask the Father of lights, of whom there is no variation or shadow of turning (James 1:17) and true to His Word, He gives us wisdom liberally and without reproach. What of those times when God’s wisdom seems to be stuck somewhere in the Answer-My-Prayer tunnel? While we wait on the Lord to answer, our usual fallback is to seek counsel from a friend or seasoned saint, and prayerfully a godly one, because it shows that we are impatient or unsure, need clarity, and wisdom!

Has a godly seasoned saint ever given you counsel that made sense, but you strongly disagreed with it because it would humble you? Whether it was an expensive car/home purchase, a career choice, a church to attend, even a choice in which suitor to court?  Oh, the wisdom of the Elders of King Rehoboam, 2 Chronicle 10. The king asked for their counsel, and they obliged with common sense/sage advice. Read it for yourselves, 2 Chronicle 10:1-7, you will say out loud, “That counsel makes sense.”

Yet, King Rehoboam in his pride rejected their wisdom and instead sought the counsel of his peers, his buddies, his ace-boon-coons, “and consulted the young men who had grown up with him, who stood before him. 9 And he said to them, ‘What advice do you give? How should we answer this people who have spoken to me, saying, “Lighten the yoke which your father put on us”? 10 Then the young men who had grown up with him spoke to him, saying, ‘Thus you should speak to the people who have spoken to you, saying, “Your father made our yoke heavy, but you make it lighter on us”—thus you shall say to them: “My little finger shall be thicker than my father’s waist! 11 And now, whereas my father put a heavy yoke on you, I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scourges!’ ” 2 Chronicle 10:8-11.

The historical account is a testimony of how to discern wise counsel as you navigate life’s challenges as God’s servant.  You will shake your head at King Rehoboam’s responses, sigh at the outcome of the people, imagine yourself in his position and ask, “Would I have done the same?” As you entreat the Lord for wisdom and counsel, humble yourself, ask in faith, with no doubt, and wait on Him. IF you enlist advice from your Christian peers, young or old, humble yourself, discern and compare their words to God’s standards and godly thinking.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank You for Your wisdom. You said that the wisdom of this world is earthly, sensual and demonic. Help us to hear with godly hearing and wait on You, for the wisdom that comes from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. (James 3:17) What a pattern to follow! Thank You, Jesus. It is in Your name I pray, amen.
By Sis. Paula Smith