Apr. 2013 Fall 2014 | Page 18

It means that we can seek guidance from the Lord in any situation and He will help us. He will guide us on the right path because He knows us, and wants what is best for His children. He will give us peace (comfort) in times of trail, and strength to endure. God as Our Counselor God has always been there as our counselor, however not many people know how to fully receive counsel from the Lord. It isn’t just a onesided relationship with Him wherein all we do is talk through prayer, but it is listening to Him as well because through that, we will receive the counsel that we need. God always speaks in a still quiet voice if only we would listen. Some people mistake it for our “conscience”, but it really is God directing your steps. Receiving victory in life is really simple, and boils down to counseling with the Lord. Why? 1.He wants what is best for His children because He loves them. 2.He knows the outcome, and all of the people involved. Who better to ask for advice? 3.You can’t fail. God loves us and wants what is best for us, and He will lead you into victory. So why don’t we listen more to God if it is so simple, and a win is guaranteed? Sometimes we don’t like what He is saying because it could be that we have to give something up, or because we perceive what He’s asking us to do is too hard. The core of it is that we just don’t want to. God may ask you to stop yelling at your spouse all the time because if you don’t, you marriage will be ruined by your own tongue. Instead, God tells you to speak to them in love and with kindness about the things that bother you. This, He says, will enhance your marriage and create deeper intimacy. However, you moan, and tell God that it is just too hard to control your tongue. You have a bad temper, and you were just “made that way”. In reality, you just don’t want to obey what God has told you to do. The perception of it being too hard isn’t true because God will give you the grace to overcome the temptation to yell. He will help you. The phrase “you were made that way” is a lie, too. God didn’t make you that way. Scripture says we were made in His image, and that type of anger is not from God. That is like telling God that He is verbally abusive to His children. Is that really what you want to say to Him? In this situation, not only can God not help you because in addition to not treating your spouse in an honoring fashion, you are being disobedient (telling God no, I won’t do it), and then lying to God that it is His fault that you behave the way you do. The truth is that if you exercise selfcontrol (fruit of the Spirit), you can overcome the temptation to yell. This is a godly solution, and how God wants us to resolve our differences. It may not be easy, and may take discipline, but it is possible. However, it is all up to you. You can choose to take the counsel of the Lord and better your relationship or you can destroy it. Sadly, most often people ignore God’s counsel, get into trouble, endure the pain of their decision, and then call out to God for advice through their tears. They could have avoided the entire situation by listening to God and obeying in the first place. But remember, it was just too hard (laziness/ procrastination) in the first place. They ended up reaping the pain for their decision. Different parts of the trinity have had different functions in terms of being a counselor, yet they are very intricately entwined because while they are separate components, they are very much one. Jesus counseled people as He taught about the Father. He had supernatural knowledge and knew people intimately because He knew through God how they were created and their thoughts. He could minister to them at the deepest, most honest level possible. God does much the same. He ministers to us through the Holy Spirit who will bear witness to us in a time of need. The Holy Spirit will counsel us and direct our steps. He will lead us with that still quiet voice and through revelation in the Bible. He brings us into a deeper relationship with Christ. God wants to guide us, and to counsel us. All He asks is that we obey and listen, but often we may find it challenging because the flesh rises up. The road may not always be easy, but neither is the pain resu lting from disobedience. We need to come to a place where as a believer we trust that God always wants the best for us, and that victory is always guaranteed. If we choose to follow God’s counsel, we will always end up ahead, and the only thing that will be hurting is our flesh (and Satan).