Seeking Wise Counsel

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on His law he meditates day and night.

He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.

The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. (Psalm 1 ESV)

"The Lord does all things well," the minister quoted his mother, who'd been burdened with Polio and spent over 2 years in an iron lung and isolation before seeing her family again. Yet the minister, still a boy, had to make a decision. Believe his mother's confession and trust the God who'd allowed this, or take matters into his own hands and hold that same God accountable for taking his mother's vitality away?

The question is raised daily: what is happening to our world? Hatred is on the rise. And along with it, the sanctity of human life is nearly on life support. So it seems. The days in which we find ourselves are not going to get better--yet. Not until Jesus returns.

But there is good news.

Jesus spent His time with the disciples, teaching and preparing them for the coming days. They had no idea what He was talking about until after He'd ascended to heaven and the Holy Spirit came to fill them. One instance was John 16:33, when He said, "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."

He also taught in His famous Sermon on the Mount, "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.  Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets before you" (Matthew 5:11-12).

Later, Paul exhorted us to "rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope" (Romans 5:3-4). When he wrote to the church at Corinth, he would call our difficult days light and momentary afflictions (2 Corinthians 4:17).

And then, Jesus' brother, James, tells us to "count it all joy when you fall into various trials" (James 1:2).

John's gospel shares with us another of Jesus' sayings before He was taken into heaven:

"Truly, truly, I tell you, you will weep and wail while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. A woman has pain in childbirth because her time has come; but when she brings forth her child, she forgets her anguish because of her joy that a child has been born into the world. So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy" (John 16:20-22).

This should give us such hope. To know that our Lord knew from the beginning we would face difficult days is not an indictment against anyone. He knew. He gave us words of encouragement to look to and cling to. 

Our Bible is the letter sent to us as a promise and the story of His love, His sacrifice, His return, and our future hope in His presence forever.

The Psalmist could see this. He sought to encourage us as well. Don't listen to the negativity or the doomsayers. Turn to the One who has never failed to keep His promises.

He is the One from whom we should seek counsel.

He is the One who defines our value.

There's so much more I want to say about this, but for now I will leave you with this:

Jesus saw it all, long before our story began. And He still paid the price for our redemption on that cross. He never wavered in His devotion to washing all that pain and suffering away. One day, we will see. Until then, we can trust He has our redemption sealed, and those things that waged war against our souls will be silenced. 

Until then ... go in peace.

💜 Karlene J 💜