Back in prehistoric days when I was a young mom (GRIN!) my best friend, neighbor and prayer partner, Elaine, had a framed sign in her kitchen that read: Psychiatrist - one flight up. She had hung it just below the ceiling on the fir-down right over her kitchen sink. Can you picture it? I always loved what that placement communicated and have thought of it many times through the years.
That's our C name of God for today:
Truly, the indwelling Spirit of God is our Counselor!
And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor . . .
Isaiah 9:6
Isaiah wrote prophetically of the Promised One, Jesus, whose very name - Wonderful - meant that He would be extraordinary, totally unique, and miraculous. Oh, how He was! Oh, how He still IS today. He is Wonderful beyond all human comprehension.
This Wonderful Jesus, who is wonderful beyond all human comprehension, is also used of God to enlighten our human comprehension. He is our Counselor. The Hebrew word for counselor means pretty much what you might expect: advising, counseling, admonishing, directing. But it also involves the activity of "devising plans toward certain purposes." Don't you just love that? Our wonderful Savior, Who gave His life to redeem ours, has a plan and a purpose for our lives - a plan and a purpose in the midst of our daily mundane! His plans are specific and they are practical, my sweet sisters! God doesn't hide or obscure His will from us and laugh at our pitiful stumbles and ignorance. Oh no! He is continually with us - never leaves us nor forsakes us - He holds us by our right hand - and guides us with His counsel. That's rich enough to hear it again:
Nevertheless I am continually with You;
You hold me by my right hand.
You will guide me with Your counsel.
Psalm 73:23-24
Life on this planet gets hectic, friends. Husbands are house bound on rainy days and we let them get on our nerves. Grandchildren throw temper tantrums that make you want to pinch their heads off. (Of course, that's just MY grandchildren ... I'm sure yours are perfect little angels. GRIN!) Much loved family members lose their health. There are countless examples we could cite that confront us with our need for counsel. Those just happen to be the ones I've dealt with in the last day or so that have made me realize all too clearly, I need some counsel.
Father, how do I lay aside my plans for today and switch to my husband's agenda? How do I love patiently when every thing in me is impatient to finish the study I was in the midst of? How do I honor You by reverencing him?
Father, how do I teach these children to direct their anger in appropriate ways? How do I teach them that Your will is for them to be loving and kind to one another? How do I help them move from self-focused lives to God-focused living?
Father, what should I believe for my suffering aunt? Physical healing? Spiritual healing? Peace? Comfort? What should I say ... what should I do to speak Your blessing into her life?
Father, I need Your counsel!!
Oh, dear friends, praise His name, He IS our Counselor. When we need His counsel (and is there ever a time we don't?), He is there. Our Counselor does not keep 9 to 5, Monday thru Friday office hours. He is available 24/7/365. And we don't need an appointment! Did you hear what Psalm 73 said? He is continually with us! Hallelujah!
His Spirit lives within us and leads us to the truth we need. Truth will enable us to walk in His will in all the little piddly issues of our daily lives and in the big critical crisis moments too. God counsels us by His Spirit through His Word as we come to Him in study and prayer. How will we hear His counsel if we are never in the Word? Our Counselor wants to advise us every single day. He waits for us to open His Word so He can give us Rhema - His words - for our day. All of us have a desperate need for ongoing counsel. We must give God continuous opportunities to speak to us through His Word. Pray His Word back to Him.
Father, I need to know Your will in this decision. Take hold of my right hand. I'm placing it in Yours this morning. Guide me with Your counsel.
And then, girls, LISTEN!! Open your ears! Open your eyes!
- God counsels us by His Spirit - that still small voice within.
- He counsels us through His word - the written word will sometimes jump off the pages of your Bible and speak living words (Rhema) to your heart.
- He speaks His counsel as you wait before Him in prayer.
- He may guide you by means of the very circumstances going on around you. Have you shined the light of His word on your circumstances to see what they are saying?
- Sometimes God uses the words of another - your pastor, a close Christian friend, a professional counselor, or (gulp) maybe even your husband to speak His guidance into your life. Beth Moore says that when we seek guidance from an earthly counselor, we must make sure "He uses the WORD of God to steer us in the WAYS of God so that we can live the WILL of God."
Girls, our Counselor speaks His guidance, advice and direction into our lives moment by moment. The question is - are we listening?
Oh, my sweet sisters, SEEK Him. Listen to Him! He is to be our first counsel, not our last resort. (Remember - He is ALPHA!) Often we call a friend for advice before we turn to God in His Word and in prayer. I know. I've done it more times than I care to count. But, girls, if we can learn to make Him first - to let Him be Alpha to us - if we practice priority counsel with God; we will learn to incline our ears to hear Him every day in every situation and to see Him in every circumstance. We will develop discernment over His very specific directions for our lives.
He cares
- what job you take
- whether you go back to work full time or not
- where you educate your children
- how you relate to your husband
- how you forgive those who hurt you
c . . . who am I in Him? I am a citizen of heaven
For our citizenship is in heaven,
from which we also eagerly wait
for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Philippians 3:20
This morning my husband interrupted my study time to tell me he was leaving to go run his dogs (he's getting a couple of his Beagles ready for upcoming field trials). He'd just finished reading the morning newspaper and this is what he said to me: "I can't control the presidential election. I can't control the city council. I can't control the stock market and I can't fix your car. So, I'm just gonna go run my dogs."
Isn't that a great picture of how life here on earth leaves us feeling sometimes? Everything's out of control so we might as well just do the one little thing that brings us the most joy. Life gets hectic and, yes, sometimes out of control. That's when I am MOST thankful that life here on earth - this place I call "home" today - is just a temporary residence.
Our citizenship on earth leaves us with nothing but insecurity. What more example do any of us need than the current economic crisis sweeping our nation. My daughter has poured her life into her job for the last several years with long hours and unbelievable dedication. Yet yesterday, her company was forced to fire more than 30 people because of economic downturns. Many of those who lost their jobs have been with the company much longer than my daughter. She wonders, with some anxiety, if she'll be next. Insecurity.
I really think this poem by Virginia Brasier expresses the sense of insecurity and anxiety many people feel about life today:
This is the age
Of the half-read page
And the quick hash
And the mad dash
The bright night
With the nerves tight
The plane hop
With the brief stop
The lamp tan
In a short span
The Big Shot
In a big spot
And the brain strain
And the heart pain
And the catnap
Till the spring snaps
And the fun's done!
As believers, aren't you SO thankful this life is not all we have? Our citizenship is in heaven. We are not of this world, but, girls, we are left here for a purpose. Our Father created us for His pleasure. Are you pleasing Him in the way you are living where He has placed you right now?
Our Father wants the lost and hungry world around us to see that He is the answer for their every need. He wants people to see that relationship with Him makes life meaningful. He wants the lost to know Him as Savior. Are they seeing the difference He makes in your life today?
Our citizenship is in heaven, not this insecure temporary world, but that doesn't mean we wear it as a badge of superiority. We are all saved by grace.
- No matter how unlovely those around you are
- No matter how untouchable those around you are
- No matter how unreachable those around you are
If it were not for grace, "they" would be "you." Do you see the unreachable, the untouchable, the unlovely as ones Jesus loved and died for? Are you reaching, touching, and loving them with His grace?
Our citizenship is in heaven - hallelujah - that's where our hope and security is. But, oh my sweet sisters, our heavenly citizenship carries with it a responsibility while we are still here on earth. We have a responsibility to be servants of the living God and subservient to His will.
Where are you this morning, citizen of heaven? Have you come to the burning altar of God's presence and asked Him to burn away anything in you that is not OF Him or LIKE Him? Have you yielded YOUR will for HIS will? Have you surrendered YOUR ambition for HIS mission?
C (God is . . .)
Consuming Fire
Covenant Maker
Covenant Keeper
Creator
Cornerstone
Compassionate
Comforter
Counselor
c (In Him I am . . .)
called (I Cor. 1:9)
cherished (Eph. 5:29)
chosen (Col. 3:12)
clay in the potter's hand (Jer. 18:6)
cleansed (I John 1:7,9)
complete (Col. 2:10)
confident (Prov. 3:26)
carried (Ex. 19:4)
child of God (John 1:12)
citizen of heaven (Phil. 3:20)
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