Taking God's Advice

“Listen to advice and accept discipline, and at the end you will be counted among the wise. Many are the plans in a human heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”- Proverbs 19:20-21

          In our lives as Christians we need to realize that God’s purposes are for our benefit and not to harm us. It is a matter of faith. If we believe in God, then we must trust Him. If we trust Him then we must accept as fact that the advice or discipline that comes to us from the Holy Spirit is for our ultimate good, in spite of what it may seem like at the time. Our relationship with God can only reach its highest potential from our perspective if we spend time with Him. Time is a precious commodity. Nothing can stop it; nothing can retrieve it. Time lost is gone forever. Time wasted is like the smoke from a blown-out candle; it vanishes into the air. 

          If we listen to the wisdom of God and accept the correction He sends our way we shall be counted as wise. Many of us think we know just what we need to survive this life, only to stumble and fall. Our attentiveness to the wisdom of God, as evidenced in part in the Proverbs of Solomon in the Old Testament, shall make us wise; however, wisdom is only valuable if it is put into practice. 

          We make plans constantly. We plan for today, plan for tomorrow, plan for the weekend, plan our vacations, plan weddings, plan for college … in our plan-making we forget to add the most important ingredient – God. Somehow, He gets left out of so many of our plans. Since He resides in us by His Holy Spirit, we end up taking Him wherever we go, yet when we plan, we have the tendency to take a break from our Bible reading and prayers until we need Him. That’s pretty normal behavior. I’ve done it myself. But shouldn’t God be a part of all our plans. His purposes will prevail regardless of any plans we make. Making plans isn’t a sin; making plans is a good thing. What is wrong is doing it to the exclusion of God. He loves us unconditionally and wants to be a part of our whole life, not just the parts we have decided to let Him into. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries