The World's Greatest Counselor

Psalm 119:24 - "Your statutes are my delight; they are my counselors."

A few weeks ago my daughter, Breanna, and I visited the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It was an incredible day. We both love presidential history and I was blown away by the events chronicled in the Ford Musueum. My favorite moment of the tour was when we entered a room that was an exact replica of the room where the Presidential Cabinet meets in the White House. Breanna and I each took turns dreaming about what it would be like to sit in that room as the President of the United States. And, I thought, what a wonderful gift a good cabinet would be to a president.

I have a friend who serves as the youth pastor at a church in Iowa. He has been a youth pastor for over 20 years. The guy is sharp. I've been blown away by the depth of his marriage. He hasn't gone without difficult times. His oldest child has made some mistakes that have caused great pain in their family. But, he is seeing God work on his child's life in remarkable ways.

Several years ago, my friend told me that he and his wife make it a practice to go to a counselor at least one time a year, whether they need it or not. Why? Because, there is something incredibly healthy about being able to debrief all that you have been through in the past year. Think about it. 365 days is a long time. If I look back at the past year, there are so many different things that I've experienced. He told me that being able to have one more person as a sounding board in his family's life was a great thing.

Counselors can be a wonderful gift. It's not just professional counselors that we are talking about here. When you have a huge decision to make, it's important to surround yourself with wise counsel. Proverbs 15:22 says, "Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed."

Human counselors are great, but can't compare with God's counsel. And when human ideas conflict with God's ideal in the life of a Christian, God must win out. David nailed it. The statutes of God were his counselors. Like President Ford, David would have had numerous counselors. Those counselors would no doubt have disagreed from time to time. God doesn't do that. He is the ultimate counselor. His words are recorded for us and are incredible gifts. Take advantage of His counsel today!

Dear God,

You are the Great Counselor. You provide us with the guidance that we need to live our daily lives. Thank you that you also provide us with friends and other Christians to help us when we need more input. Thank you for the gift of your word.

In Jesus' name,

Amen.