2 Counselor
2
Counselor
His name is. . .Counselor.” This takes care of the decisions of life. “You will guide me with Your counsel, and afterward receive me to glory” (Ps. 73:24).
Where people turn for help is some indication of their character and faith. One man turns to the local bar where he pours out his troubles into the ears of anybody he thinks will be sympathetic. (But then he has to listen to their troubles!) Others visit “readers” or fortune-tellers, or perhaps pay to have their horoscope cast. Many people talk their problems over with a doctor or a pastor, or perhaps visit a psychologist or other trained counselor.
To the Christian, Jesus Christ is the supreme Counselor. “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68). While it’s helpful to talk to friends and professional counselors, our first obligation is to talk to the Lord and listen to his Word. The fact that he is called “Counselor” reveals several important truths to us that help us in making the decisions of life.
The Necessity of God’s Counsel
You and I need counsel because we don’t have within ourselves what it takes to make life work. Many people who know how to make a success out of their careers don’t know how to make a success out of their lives, marriages, and homes. “O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps” (Jer. 10:23).
Why people have a difficult time directing their steps isn’t difficult to explain. To begin with, our hearts are basically sinful and selfish, and our motives are mixed. Jeremiah says it accurately: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” (Jer. 17:9). How easy it is to say, “Well, if I know my own heart!” But the plain fact is that we don’t know our own hearts! Peter looked into his heart and thought he saw courage and stability, but when Jesus looked into Peter’s heart he saw cowardice and failure. “Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water,” warns Proverbs 20:5.
Not only is the human heart desperately and deceitfully wicked, but the human mind is severely limited. “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways” (Isa. 55:8). “For who has known the mind of the LORD? Or who has become his counselor?” (Rom. 11:34). As we yield to the Lord and allow his Word to “renew our minds” (Rom. 12:2), we gradually learn more about his character and his ways, and we find it easier to determine his will. But we never come to the place in life where we can ignore prayer and the Scriptures and depend only on our own thinking.
Added to these internal deficiencies—a deceptive heart and a limited mind—are the external pressures of the world and the internal devices of the devil. We’re surrounded by an atmosphere created by people who hate God and oppose everything that belongs to a godly life. The world wants us to listen to its counsel, walk in its paths, and adopt its scornful attitude (Ps. 1:1), but God says, “Do not be conformed to this world” (Rom. 12:2).
Satan blinds the minds of unbelievers (2 Cor. 4:1–4) and tries to deceive the minds of believers (2 Cor. 11:1–3). Satan deceived Eve’s mind with his lies, and he’s been successfully telling the same lies to her sons and daughters ever since. Even Peter was led astray by the devil (Matt. 16:22–23)! God’s existence and character are clearly seen in what he’s created, but sinners don’t even want to retain God in their knowledge (Rom. 1:28). The pressure around us to think the way the world thinks makes it imperative that we seek God’s counsel and walk in his way.
Giving counsel to his children is one of God’s most gracious works. The very way he does it is evidence of his love and kindness. “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him” (James 1:5). Some of God’s children would prefer a guidebook, complete with rules, charts, and maps, which they could consult for direction, but God doesn’t work that way. If we had a “magic oracle” that always told us what to do, we would never mature and become more like Christ.
My family and I were driving to Canada for a week of ministry. The local auto club provided me with a set of maps that told us everything we needed to know: the roads to take, the construction areas to avoid, the restaurants to visit, and even the “police traps” to watch out for along the way. This approach is fine for an auto trip, but it won’t work on the highway of life.
Yes, we have a guidebook—the Bible—but it doesn’t tell us exactly who to marry, what city to live in, what job to accept, what school to attend, or a host of other important matters that people must decide about day after day. Along with his Word, God gives us the privilege of prayer and the promised help of the indwelling Holy Spirit. He expects us to use these spiritual resources to make wise decisions. The process isn’t simple or easy, but following this process is the way we grow. Praying, meditating, and waiting when we come to Christ, our Counselor, will mature us and strengthen us, and will bring glory to God as we develop our spiritual senses.
The fact that Jesus Christ is the Counselor indicates that he has a definite plan for each life. We aren’t left to drift or wander, for he knows where he wants us to be and what he wants us to do. When we seek his counsel, we aren’t asking for a luxury; we’re seeking a spiritual necessity. We must have the guidance of God if we’re to experience the grace of God and manifest the glory of God.
Christ, the Qualified Counselor
Since Jesus Christ is called “Counselor,” it means that he is qualified to counsel us. Not every person is so qualified; in fact, it’s against the law to advertise your services as a professional counselor unless you possess the necessary credentials. Having an interest in people and being able to give advice are not sufficient credentials in most places. The authorities require a certain amount of education, some practical experience under the guidance of a trained counselor, and proficiency in the field as proved by official examinations.
Is Jesus Christ qualified to be your counselor? Of course he is! For one thing, he is eternal God in whom “dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily” (Col. 2:9). Jesus Christ exercised an important ministry in the original creation, for “all things were made through Him” (John 1:3). Jesus was there when the Father said, “Let us make man!” Solomon’s “Hymn to Wisdom” in Proverbs 8:22–36 reminds us of Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, and the wisdom of God. Paul tells us that in Christ “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col. 2:3). There’s nothing he doesn’t know!
But something else makes him a qualified counselor: he is also man and understands how we feel. Because he was born into this world as a human, grew up, labored, suffered, and died, he’s able to enter into the experiences that perplex and burden you. How many times the professional counselor hears, “Oh, you just don’t understand!” But those words can never honestly be spoken to Jesus Christ, because he does understand.
“Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God. . . . For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted” (Heb. 2:17–18).
Consider another fact: Jesus loves us. Counselors are warned not to get involved emotionally with their patients, lest this involvement hinder them from doing their best. But Jesus Christ deals with us in love and always speaks the truth in love (Eph. 4:15). In the upper room, he told Peter the truth about himself, and tried to guide Peter into the place of victory. Unfortunately, Peter rejected the truth, and even argued with it, and the result was shameful failure. Some people hold back the truth because they think this is one way to show love. Others tell the truth but have no love. Jesus Christ is able to blend both truth and love, and this makes him an effective counselor.
As our Counselor, Jesus encourages us and says to us as he said to his disciples, “Let not your heart be troubled” (John 14:1). Why wouldn’t their hearts be troubled? He had just told them that Peter would deny him and that one of their number was a traitor! On top of this, he had told them that he was leaving them to go back to the Father. Their hearts were troubled, deeply so, and so he sought to encourage them and prepare them for the demands that lay before them. He told them about the Father’s house and about the Holy Spirit, the “Comforter,” the “Encourager.” (That’s what the word “comfort” really means—“to encourage, to give strength.”)
Good counselors don’t protect us from the problems of life; instead, they prepare us for life’s problems and help us face them honestly and courageously. “Do not pray for easy lives,” said Phillips Brooks. “Pray to be stronger men and women. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks.”
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Ps. 46:1). As our refuge, he hides us; as our strength, he helps us. We don’t leave our Counselor’s presence merely with good advice. He sends us away with the strength we need to do what he tells us to do.
Jesus Christ, our Counselor, is patient with us. As you read the four Gospels, you can’t help but be impressed with our Lord’s patience with his disciples as he answers their questions, endures their ignorance and selfishness, and attempts to teach them and prepare them for their life’s ministry. Even the best counselors occasionally lose their patience and try to push their clients faster than they’re able to go, but not so with the Lord Jesus Christ. “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now” (John 16:12). He knows the right time and the right circumstances for revealing a new truth or reminding us of an old truth.
Our heavenly Counselor knows our hearts perfectly. “He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man” (John 2:24–25). “And all the churches shall know that I am He who searches deep within men’s hearts, and minds. . . .” (Rev. 2:23 TLB). “Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out” (Prov. 20:5). Jesus knows the human heart and mind and is able to help us understand ourselves. What a wonderful Counselor he is!
I would add one final characteristic that shows the greatness of our Counselor: He prays for us. “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word” (John 17:20). He prays for us constantly, for “He always lives to make intercession for them” (Heb. 7:25). For what does he pray? That we might be made “complete in every good work to do His will” (Heb. 13:21). “For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Phil. 2:13).
You and I need spiritual counsel, and Jesus Christ is perfectly qualified to be our Counselor.
His Counsel in Our Lives
Christ’s counsel is available to us now. Providing this counsel is a part of his ministry as our High Priest.
He counsels us through his Word. “Your testimonies also are my delight and my counselors” (Ps. 119:24). Consider the wisdom that God gives us through his Word. “You, through Your commandments, make me wiser than my enemies. . . . I have more understanding than all my teachers. . . . I understand more than the ancients. . . .” (Ps. 119:98–100). We can learn from the Word what other people must learn in the difficult “school of hard knocks.” There’s no need for God’s people to learn the hard way by suffering the bitter consequences of sin. We can learn from the Word, avoid sin, and be the wiser for it.
He also counsels us by his Spirit. “The spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might” (Isa. 11:2). The Spirit of God teaches us from the Word of God. He also teaches us in the everyday experiences of life as he speaks to us from the Word and directs us. “Now when they [Paul and his associates] had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia. After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them” (Acts 16:6–7). How the Holy Spirit directed Paul and his party we don’t know, but that he does direct us, we can be sure.
Often the Lord uses circumstances to give us counsel and direction. “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye” (Ps. 32:8). “I will counsel you with My eye upon you,” reads the New American Standard Bible. What human counselor can keep his or her eye upon the counselees to make sure that they obey? “For the eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers” (1 Peter 3:12). The child of God learns that his Father is in control of circumstances, and that the things that happen often point the way to the will of God.
Our Counselor will often use other people to help direct us. “Ointment and perfume delight the heart, and the sweetness of a man’s friend does so by hearty counsel” (Prov. 27:9). This is one of the blessings of Christian fellowship in the local gathering of believers: we’re able to encourage and admonish one another in the will of God. We must be careful, of course, to listen only to wise counselors. King Rehoboam listened to his young friends, and the results for him and the kingdom were tragic (1 Kings 12).
So, our Counselor directs us by his Word, his Spirit, the circumstances of life, and through the believers with whom we fellowship. But what must we do so that God might share his counsel with us? We must be willing to do what he says. “If any of you really determines to do God’s will, then you will certainly know whether my teaching is from God or is merely my own” (John 7:17 TLB). God doesn’t give his counsel to the curious or the careless; he reveals his will to the concerned and the consecrated. Some believers take the attitude, “I’ll ask God what he wants me to do, and if I like it, I’ll do it.” The result is predictable: God doesn’t speak to them. Unless we have a serious desire both to know and to do the counsel of God, he will not reveal his will to us.
We Must Seek God’s Counsel
“My son, if you receive my words, and treasure my commands within you; so that you incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding; yes, if you cry out for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding, if you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God” (Prov. 2:1–5).
Sad to say, many times people have come to me for spiritual counsel without a sincere desire to seek the mind and will of God. They were impatient; they wanted me to hand them a prepackaged plan. They were unwilling to discipline themselves in Bible study and prayer to diligently seek the wisdom God had for them. They expected to find nuggets of truth lying on the surface of life, and were unwilling to dig for the hidden treasures.
Desire God’s counsel, seek it, and wait for it. This unwillingness to wait on the Lord was what led Israel into disobedience time after time. “They soon forgot His works; they did not wait for His counsel” (Ps. 106:13). A teacher can instruct a pupil in algebra and answer his questions immediately, but in the school of life, our Counselor must wait until we are ready for the answer. “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now” (John 16:12). God’s delays are preparation for God’s blessings. If you don’t know what God wants you to do, wait patiently and keep doing what he’s told you to do. Your gracious Counselor will never lead you astray, but you can lead yourself astray if you become impatient and impulsive. “He who believes will not act hastily” (Isa. 28:16).
When the Lord shows you his counsel, gratefully accept it. Don’t argue with it; don’t ask him to revise it; don’t look for a second opinion. Simply accept whatever God tells you to do. God’s will isn’t given to us for our critical approval; it’s given for our obedient acceptance. There’s no “money-back guarantee” if we aren’t completely satisfied.
We must accept God’s will, and then obey it. The blessing doesn’t come in the discovery of God’s will, but in the doing of God’s will. “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (James 1:22). The blessing comes in the doing, not in the hearing (James 1:25). God’s standard is “doing the will of God from the heart” (Eph. 6:6).
Your Counselor knows the decisions you must make and how important those decisions are to you and to him. God is lovingly wrapped up in your life. He has a tremendous investment in you and your future. He has more to lose if you fail than you do, for his eternal glory is at stake. He wants to be your Counselor and show you his will. He doesn’t want to counsel you only in the emergencies of life; he wants to counsel you every day in even the mundane things of life. “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31). As you seek his counsel, you get to know him better. In knowing him better, you better understand his will.
God’s counsel must never be separated from God’s character, for his person and his plan always go together. “He cannot deny Himself” (2 Tim. 2:13). The more two persons love each other, the more they involve each other in the plans and activities of life. Your Counselor wants to be a part of every area of your life, for as you walk together, you better understand his character and his will.
God doesn’t need our counsel; we need his. “For who has known the mind of the LORD? Or who has been His counselor?” (Rom. 11:34). Too often we come to him and tell him what he ought to do, when we should wait before him quietly and let him counsel us. “Speak, LORD, for Your servant hears” (1 Sam. 3:9). “This is the way, walk in it” (Isa. 30:21).
There’s no need to fear the decisions of life when you know Jesus Christ, for his name is Counselor.