I’m not sure about you, but I am often great at counseling others. I’ll listen to you, pray for you, and give advice.
Just the other day, I was listening to a friend with a current struggle in her life, and hearing words (they were actually pretty wise, if I should say so myself) come out of my mouth. When we ended our conversation I immediately said, “Thank You, Lord for putting the words in my mouth because I know it all came from You.”
What caught me off guard was the nugget of information that God whispered to me. It was as if He was saying, “Stephanie, those words weren’t just for you to share, but to heed to yourself while going through your own circumstance.”
Whew! Blew me over and got me to my knees.
During my bible study time, I was reading 2 Samuel 12:1-20. This is after King David had 1) sent for Bathsheba, 2) slept with this married woman, 3) tried to cover his wrong by sending for her husband, 4) ended up having Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah, killed, and 5) discovered that Bathsheba had become pregnant with the king’s child. Whoa…what a H-O-T mess.
So…what did I discover in chapter 12 verses 1-20? Well…
- Sometimes others are the voice from God we need to hear to make us realize what we’ve done. (vv. 1-10)
- We do reap what we sow. (vv. 11-12)
- God does forgive. (v. 13)
- Consequences will occur. (v.14-19)
- Repentance, on our part, needs to take place. (v. 20)
- Lesson learned.
Listen to advice and accept discipline; then you, too, will become wise. Proverbs 19:20
The way of fools seems right to them, but the wise listen to advice. Proverbs 12:15
I pray that when you do give advice, pray first that God will give you the words to share. Seek godly advice when you are going through life’s challenges. Be prepared for God to be using your words of wisdom to speak straight to you as well.
Now, that I think about it…there have been a couple of conversations this past week where I now sense that God was sharing those advising words with me too. He’s so cool!
Blessings to you and yours,
Remember…Dig Deep into God’s word. He has much to share.
Stephanie
