Counselor
1 Chronicles 10:1-14

Saul was in a losing battle. His men were falling left and right. Three of his sons had been slain. The enemy was notorious for tormenting their captives and would be especially sure to disgrace him, knowing who he was. There was no way out. Rather than suffer at the hands of the Philistines, Saul chose to take his own life.

Why did Saul die? The Bible says it was because he rejected God's counsel. He didn't want to hear what God had to say. Sometimes we don't want to hear what God has to say, either. We're perfectly fine getting advice from other people. Part of that is because we maintain control over our lives. We can choose whether to tame their advice or not. We can evaluate it based on what we know about their lives, their experiences, their knowledge, and we can make a judgment call as to whether we know better or not.

But when we seek God's advice, we have to first acknowledge that the fact that He is God means His counsel is always right, regardless of our feelings. That doesn't sit well with an independent, rebellious nature. To draw on God's wisdom is to take the risk of sinning by choosing not to follow it. So, we avoid going to Him. We get our advice from friends, from pop psychologists, from political commentators, from self-help gurus and new age practitioners, and we don't even take the risk of running these ideas through the filter of scripture to test the spirit.

So we get to the point where we see no way out. Couples are led to divorce because of irreconcilable differences, women choose to destroy precious life, men seek validation through relationships and material gain, children choose to experiment with addictive behaviors, and everyone looks to do what is best in their own eyes.

We think this is getting our lives back, but in reality it is a poison to our souls. There is only one source of life, one way to eternity, one that can give us the counsel we need to live an abundant life now and forevermore. While He places others in our life to help us understand His counsel, let us ensure that we always seek Him first.

Father, we need your counsel more than ever. With everyone else more than willing to tell us what is best, we need to listen to what you have to say. Open our ears to hear your words of life. Help us to rely on your counsel. In Jesus' name, amen.