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Three Tools to Help in Making Godly Decisions - Part 3
In our last two bulletins, we have considered the role of prayer and Bible study in helping us make godly decisions. Another tool which can be beneficial when making decisions is to seek out wise, godly counsel. Of course, the best counsel we could receive when trying to make a decision comes from God and is found in His word (the Bible). Really, when people give us good counsel it is because they are helping to bring before our mind things which God’s word teaches us to consider.
The book of Proverbs contains several statements about the value of wise, godly counsel:
- Proverbs 11:14 - “Where there is no counsel, the people fall; but in the multitude of counselors there is safety” (NKJV). Here we are reminded fo the value of having a multitude of counselors if we want to be successful.
- Proverbs 12:15 - “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he who heeds counsel is wise” (NKJV). Seeking godly counsel can help us see things about ourselves and dangers we might miss if we were relying exclusively on our own judgment. One of the things we need to remember about wise, godly counsel is it only benefit the person who actually heeds the counsel which is given.
- Proverbs 15:22 - “Without counsel, plans go awry, but in the multitude of counselors they are established” (NKJV). This passage is very similar in its teaching to Proverbs 11:14 above.
- Proverbs 19:20 - “Listen to counsel and receive instruction, that you may be wise in your latter days” (NKJV). There are people who have gone through life and experienced things before you or seen things you have not seen. Listening to such individuals can help you avoid making some of the same mistakes they and others have made. The only way to really become wiser is to listen to counsel and instruction ultimately from God but also from those who have filled themselves with godly wisdom.
- Proverbs 20:18 - “Plans are established by counsel; by wise counsel wage war” (NKJV).
- Proverbs 24:6 - “For by wise counsel you will wage your own war, and in a multitude of counselors there is safety” (NKJV).
- Proverbs 27:9 - “Ointment and perfume delight the heart, and the sweetness of a man’s friend gives delight by hearty counsel” (NKJV). Let’s recognize the value of counsel which comes from others instead of resenting the advice they give.
Here are some places we might be able to turn to in order to receive wise counsel in making a decision:
- Parents - Proverbs 1:8-9 says, “My son, hear the instruction of your father, and do not forsake the law of your mother; for they will be a graceful ornament on your head, and chains about your neck” (NKJV).
- Elders - Hebrews 13:7 - “Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct” (NKJV).
- Older, experienced Christians - Titus 2:3-5 - “The older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things - that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed” (NKJV). It is neat to get advice from people who have been where you are now. They may be able to tell you things in hindsight they would have done differently or they may also be able to give you pointers on things they found which worked well.
Wise, godly counsel does not take the place of the previous two tools for making a godly decision. If we are going to know whether the counsel we are receive is wise or unwise, we will need to have an understanding of the word of God. Yet at the same time do not cut yourself off and isolate oneself from the wonderful source of godly counsel when making a decision. Remember Proverbs 18:1, “A man who isolates himself seeks his own desire; he rages against all wise judgment” (NKJV).
