Listen to counsel and receive instruction, That you may be wise in your latter days. There are many plans in a man’s heart, Nevertheless the Lord’s counsel-that will stand. Proverbs 19:20-21NKJV
As I was reading my devotional today, the words wise counsel reminded me of a time when I was in Russia. I got a great word of knowledge from a friend. My friend was asking me if I have someone in my life who I trusted and can advise me when needed. When I told him no, he was surprised. He said that I needed to have a mentor in my life and then proceeded to talk to me about the importance of having certain influences of people that surround me in my walk. He used the example of a car engine and the wires within it. He said I needed someone who is a grounding wire, a person who will encourage me onward. He then said that I needed a hot wire, someone who will correct me. Finally, I need a neutral wire someone who would listen and hear me out.
I look back today and thank God for that divine appointment across the world. God reached me thousands of miles away to instill within me, what I would need upon returning home. Little did I know that my life would be transformed, and I would begin a new journey. When I came home, I began my quest for these people that I needed in my life called mentors. What I later realized was that I already had a couple of those “engine wires” in my life. I was ready to move forward, and I was pumped to find my new “advisor”. I began to ask people to mentor me and to my surprise, no one wanted to take on that responsibility. It was tuff for someone to commit to that. I felt defeated and started to allow my thoughts to get the best of me. I kept pushing forward through the defeat and as I pressed onward, I continued to be shot down. I watched with a heavy sadness as the expression on their faces turned from joy to an overwhelming reluctance as they were trying to come up with an answer to not have to commit.
It wasn’t until I let it go, did God lead me right to what I needed. The person I asked to mentor me at one point said, “Let’s just see where this goes.” She was talking about our newfound friendship that came through the writing of books. You see, that was no coincidence. That was God. He is always making things for our good. God knew this meeting would take place at this time, and through something in common with one another, God established one of my “engine wires”.
That day, I realized that my Russian friend was speaking into me, my spirit. The Lord had to take me out of my surroundings to hear His word of what He had planned for me. Out of obedience, I clung to the word he gave me. I also had a lot to learn from that day on about myself and control. As I look back to that day sitting at a restaurant in Russia, I can now see how God was at work in my life and I can also see where I was and where I am now.
Wise counsel leads us to make great the plans of the Lord. It shifts the spiritual atmosphere making a way for the glorious Father to enter and receive splendor. This can only occur when we learn to walk in the ways of the Lord. When we make ourselves less by giving up the ways of the world, we magnify Him to greatness, and His greatness is magnified through us. Wise counsel helps to work out the destiny that God has predestined for us.
We need wise counsel in our lives.