What You'll Discover in this Episode:
You Will Guide Me With Your Counsel
Psalm 73:24 the psalmist confesses a great truth: “You will guide me with Your counsel, And afterward receive me to glory.”
This is to be our confidence for time and eternity.
Throughout time God will guide us with His counsel, if we let Him, if we look to Him, and if we trust Him to do so.
And afterward, what will He do?
- As we’re walking along that path of His counsel, He’ll just receive us right into glory.
- He’ll just continue it in heaven forever.
- The Lord is our Counselor.
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Wow this really spoke to me. I have spent so much of my christian walk wondering why I have so much difficulty (mostly emotional and spiritual). It has only been in the past 3 years or so that God has shown me so clearly that trials are actually blessings. I still struggle so much when they come, immediately going to myself to try and fix it before going to Him. But He in His grace and mercy redirects me. I loved what you said about not gaining stamina sitting in a rocking chair thinking religious thought. I used to think that as a young Christian, really! I thought that if I just had enough time to just sit and be religious my life would be a piece of cake. I was actually taught as a young christian that life for a believer should be stress free. It took many years for God to weed that out of my self sufficient mind. I want to learn more and more how to embrace whatever He brings my way, knowing that He is doing it because He loves me and wants me to be more like Jesus. And I want to help others know that too!!
Dear Lisa,
Thank you so much for sharing your heartfelt reflections! It’s truly inspiring to hear about your journey and the profound lessons you’ve learned over the past few years. Your honesty about struggling to immediately turn to God in times of difficulty is relatable for many.
The realization that trials are blessings is indeed transformative, and your commitment to learning how to embrace whatever God brings your way is commendable. Your desire to help others understand and navigate this perspective is a beautiful testament to your faith and the impact it has on your life.
May your continued journey be filled with God’s grace and the wisdom to share His love with those around you. We hope to see you inside the Academy soon!
Blessings,
Jeff
One of the most exciting things about seeking God’s counsel is so often I learn, receive or am encouraged as much instruction as I’m sharing with another. God continually reinforces His precepts as our minds easily wonder. We need the constant reinforcement God’s Word provides. Thank you for emphasizing the importance of Him being our anchor for the ways we are to go.
Dear Doretha,
Your insight resonates deeply, reflecting the beautiful reciprocity of seeking God’s counsel. Your comment brings to mind Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” Indeed, as we seek His guidance, we not only receive but also reinforce His timeless precepts, anchoring our lives in His wisdom.
Thank you for emphasizing the significance of God being our unwavering anchor. May we continue to find strength and direction in His Word.
Blessings,
Pastor Jeff
Listening to this message on the working power of the Holy Spirit makes me think of all the years I wasted money and time seeking out a counselor to help me after my divorce. It was rare that I sought out the Lord first. Going to friends and other divorced women for advice was unbiblical and unproductive, it may also be the reason why the grieving period was so drawn out.
Approaching a counseling situation takes the burden off of our shoulders and places it where it rightfully belongs in our Saviors hands. Isaiah 40 tells us, ‘have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the creator of the end of the earth, neither faints, nor grows weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak.” These truths are living and comforting.
Dear Stacy,
Thank you for sharing your powerful reflections on the Holy Spirit’s working in our lives, especially during challenging times. Your realization about seeking the Lord first aligns beautifully with Isaiah 40:28-29: “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor grows weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak.” Your recognition that approaching counseling situations places the burden where it rightfully belongs—in our Savior’s hands—is a profound reminder of His infinite wisdom and strength.
May these truths continue to be a source of living comfort in your journey.
Blessings,
Pastor Jeff
I was reminded again, as I listened to your podcast, of why so many mental health workers burn out. I have witnessed what happens when humankind try to counsel others with the answer to a question only God can answer. The Bible makes it clear in Isaiah 9:6 the Lord is the Wonderful Counselor not anyone of us.
We have a choice to make we can agree with God or chose our own truth. God’s way according to Proverbs 3:5-8 calls us to not lean on our own understanding, to not be wise in our own eyes, and to trust Him with all our heart. The Lord tells He will make our paths straight and health and nourishment to our bodies as we obey Him.
He is the Counselor. It is wonderful. He is faithful. We can trust Him. Behold our God.
Dear Yvonne,
Your insight into the potential burnout of Biblical Counselors and the importance of recognizing God as the ultimate Counselor is profound. Your reference to Isaiah 9:6 beautifully underscores the truth that the Lord is our Wonderful Counselor.
Your choice of Proverbs 3:5-8 is fitting: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” Indeed, placing our trust in God’s wisdom brings clarity and nourishment to our lives.
Thank you for the reminder to agree with God’s truth and to behold the faithfulness of our Wonderful Counselor.
Blessings,
Pastor Jeff
It really resonated with me when Jeff said that Jesus will instruct and guide you in the way we must go. Key word being must, we must in order to have life through Christ. Laying down our problems, sins, and shortcomings at the foot of the cross to be resolved by our King. Following advice from a worldly counselor can sometimes lead to spiritual death. While following God’s counsel it will always lead to spiritual life. He speaks to us through His word as a teacher, instructor, guide and counselor among many other things. At times certain Bible versions speak to me more intimately than others. Right now it is the ESV, but varies from NKJV, NLT and NIV.
Yes Michael, I can all relate here to the many occasions of receiving poor counsel from a godly person who may have done more damage in the advice they’ve shared w me and following them rather than listening the the leading of the Holy Spirit. We seem to learn the most in those painful situations. We must go to Jesus first.
Dear Michael,
Your deep understanding of the significance of seeking guidance from Jesus and laying down our burdens at the foot of the cross is truly inspiring. Your emphasis on the word “must” in following His way aligns with the profound truth found in John 14:6: “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'”
Your insight about worldly counsel potentially leading to spiritual death contrasts powerfully with the life-giving nature of God’s guidance. As you rightly pointed out, His Word serves as our teacher, instructor, guide, and counselor. Your openness to different Bible versions reflects the dynamic and personal nature of our relationship with Him.
May you continue to find profound wisdom and intimacy with God through His Word.
Blessings,
Pastor Jeff
Everything we do is to glorify God, to make Him known and point others to Him. Looking to God as our Counselor changes my outlook in the way I look at my problems or others issues. I can see how when one runs to friends/family for advice that can be a problem in their life. God knows who we need and is the One who can advice us/others. We can also exhaust relationships by continually contacting other people w our issues..
I also have begun to use a wide range of translations – King James Version being my current go to. I do love how the Psalms talk about God as our fortress and shield. It is also very comforting to know that God’s eyes are on me – He is paying attention, He isn’t preoccupied with everything else going on; He is taking the time to look at me and instruct me with His word. Hmm. A great time of reflection for me to think about “If His attention is on me, am I doing what pleases Him?” Thank you Jeff for the episode.
I was so encouraged by this teaching. That the Lord is our counselor. That he loves and cares for us and reminds us that He will guide and instruct us. I have continuously gone to him over the years for counsel even though I wasn’t actively thinking of him as Counselor. Also, that we have everything we need for life and godliness in Christ.
Just before I listened to this podcast, I was reading the first chapter of How to Counsel God’s Way and the author’s first verse is Psalm 32:8 and immediately I put this down as one of my life verses. It resonated so strongly with me and my own journey. What I love about the verse is the promise. Not just that God is the Counselor, He certainly is, but twice He says “I will…” “I will instruct and teach you…I will counsel you with My eye upon you”. The “I will” jumped out at me so loudly and this scripture came alive in me. This is my confidence, among the many supporting scriptures such as Psalm 73:24 that you mention. If God says “I will” then He will and that is as firm a promise as there can be. It actually led me down another list of His promises that perhaps I believed in my head, but perhaps doubted would happen for me or those I loved. It is such a comforting truth and can release worry and striving if we’ll believe it and trust in it.
Joel, I was encouraged as I read your excitement about the amazing gift God has given us in His promises. Taking God at His Word whether it is a promise of something good or a warning of consequence is life changing. It is easy to get caught in our heads and not allow His truth to be activated in our hearts. Thank you for the reminder today of how worthy He is of our trust and obedience. These are things we should never take for granted.
I have watched so many of my friends and family go the psychology way of counseling. It breaks my heart because they are not getting the anchoring that they need in The Wonderful Counselor. The Lord is the only one who knows us and the plans He has for us. Why not seek His counsel in the way we should go? We can’t go with short cuts! We can’t be the ones to choose which way to go to handle our problems! Otherwise we will leave our anchor of Truth (or never find it because we’re lost in the swirling pool of psychology). We need to let God heal/fix our broken hearts His way, not so we can continue in our carnality, but so He can show us the secret things He has for us.
Lorna, you said it perfectly and I agree you about those that go the psychology way of counseling. I love seeing lives changed when they are fully surrendered and submitted to Christ and yes we need to do it God’s way.
Great way to start off and anchor our calling to counsel in THE wonderful counselor Himself. Like many other areas of ministry we are conduits for God’s word and truth. We need to be faithful stewards of His manifold blessings and always be conscious of the fact that it is His Word and His Truth that has the transformative power in the counseling setting. “For the Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” Since Jesus IS the Word of God… AND our wonderful counselor, I know of no other human counselor who has ever existed who can discern BOTH the thoughts AND the intentions of the heart…..and by His steadfast, gracious and sustaining counsel receive me into glory.
AWESOME
So many great comments! Have to say a hearty amen to all so far. What a great group we have in BCA! Looking forward to getting to know you all better.
Timothy mentioned the freedom of knowing we don’t have to have an answer for everything…. I love that!
When we point to the Lord as THE counselor, it’s always amazing to receive those passages of Scripture or answers that come to mind and to know that there’s no way they came from ourselves, but from Him alone by His Spirit!
I thank God for his counsel that has brought me through many difficulties. His word to teach us his Spirit to empower us. I thank God that he has his eye on my and personally cares about me.
Hi Sarah, you are so right, we can be so easily deceived if we do not guard our hearts and examine what we see and hear through scripture. In light of this truth we must ensure that we study to shew ourselves approved unto God knowing how to rightly divide the word of truth. May we be committed to the sufficiency and authority of scripture.
Thank you Rick for the feedback. Yes Indeed seeking God through prayer and the Word will enable us to provide the Biblical counsel that is needed. So grateful for the Holy Spirit who is alongside us yet within us to help us.
I have been in awe of the Holy Spirit as of late, as He reveals that God is the Wonderful Counselor, not humankind. This morning He whispered to me that He is in control of our daughter’s health, and that I need to listen to Him rather than doctors. It is so reassuring to know that He is in control, not me.
This is essential when deciding how one will counsel another. As Christians, we hope, desire and strive to counsel with God’s wisdom, direction, guidance and instruction. When comparing man’s way and God’s way, there is no question. Man fails. Unfortunately, man is corrupt and even his good moments and wisdom are corrupted by sin. It is first understanding this and second, it is receiving and sharing the counsel of God and His wisdom, salvation and power with others who need His truth in their lives.
The truth of the first chapter of “How to Counsel God’s Way” rang through and was reinforced by this episode. The understanding that we must be anchored, or grounded in christ, and only from Him will we find the answers we seek is largely what is missing from society in this day an age. In addition, it is a relief; as we are continuing through this training and certification, that we are not the ones with the answers. Only by submitting ourselves to God’s authority and power, will we receives counsel and direction.
I find such peace in knowing that I am not expected to know every answer, because He already does. And as I continue to grow in Him, His direction becomes that much more clear.
Hi Timothy,
I find the same peace knowing that I don’t desire and can’t counsel others on my own. I have nothing to offer outside of God’s Word, wisdom , direction and guidence. So we depend upon His Spirit to guide and direct us in speaking into the lives of others.
This was an amazing teaching and a reinforcement to the truths in the book Counseling Gods Way. My greatest take away is the need to being anchored in the truth that God is the Counsellor. When I am anchored I expect opposing teachings and those who will not agree with the Biblical approach to Counseling but with that anchor of God being my Wonderful Counsellor my ship won’t drift. Amen!. This is so liberating because I don’t have to rely on myself or be burdened with the weight of trying to bring about the change in those I counsel. It’s not about me, I am an instrument in the Redeemers hands and what an opportunity Jesus has given us to share in His ministry to the Church. God has provided Himself and His Word which is sufficient to help us in counseling.I’m amazed how much wisdom is in the Scriptures and how we can use them. One thing is guaranteed is that if God promises to instruct and teach us He will. Thank God that He has made us competent to counsel and we don’t need to borrow humanistic theories from the world to lead Gods people in error. I thoroughly benefited from this podcast. Great ministry Pastor Jeff.
Hi Jocelyn,
I think we all are getting the same sense that we are unable in and of ourselves to help and counsel others. We need God and His Spirit to guide and direct us. No only that, but He has promised that He will do this as we seek Him through His Word and prayer. It is total trust and faith in Him and what He says He will do. But it is also what He has already dime through His Son Jesus who took our place and rose again, overcoming and destroying death and sin in eternity. But the battle is here for us as we live here on earth for this time.
As humankind today we try so much to push our own agenda on what we think should be our best interest for others. Deception can be easily overlooked if we do not guard our hearts or compare everything we hear to scripture. By seeking “a way that works for us”, will lead to failure; We need to seek His ultimate counsel in the way we should go and anchor ourselves in him rather than the things of the earth. Truly seeking His authority and not the deception this earth has. I loved Ps 73:24 and the imagery of God guiding us as we see his counsel knowing we will be received in His kingdom.
It is certainly a temptation for me to want to give my advice to anyone in need of a solution. When I hear people’s problems immediately want to fix it for them, so it is not a bad intention, yet it relies too heavily on myself coming up with answers. I do indeed need to do a better job of getting out of the way and letting God do the work.
Hey Dean, I know exactly how you feel. I find myself in situations of providing “my answer” to friends and family’s issues all too often. I have to ask myself, “Have I even asked God if this is the advice that He would give this person?” I do not think that it is wrong to want to jump in and help, but this podcast did put it into perspective, for meat least; that it is God who gives the counsel, even if I am the mouthpiece.
Hi Dean,
On the encouraging side of our journey (sanctification) there is GREAT LIBERTY (2 Cor. 3:17) in not being the repository or font of wisdom. When I am lost or confused in the counseling context I know where to go for counsel, wisdom and direction. My part is to be thoroughly saturated and immersed in God’s Word (with a surrendered heart)…..and He promises to direct my path (Prov. 3:6).
It is easy to get caught up in the Me-isms of today’s culture. Having God’s word to anchor Christ Followers is essential to overcoming this.
Especially with younger generations, the world is all about finding power within yourself. There are so many self-help books out there today and articles with tips for self improvement. But the answers to the heartache or challenges we face aren’t found within ourselves. The broken soul can’t be fixed by the broken soul. We need the Lord.
When I first started in youth ministry, I shared a concern I had was that I wouldn’t have the answer or know what to say to someone. My leader’s response was that I’m not there to share my advice or my take on the situation, my insight wasn’t ever going to be enough. The wisdom and truth that are sufficient come always from the Lord. My prayer is always that I can serve not in the flesh, but the Spirit.
Several years ago, my friend who brought me to Jesus, asked me to think about, or even write down, how often I said “I” or “Me” in one day. It was eye opening! We are self centered by nature, however, need to focus on the One who created us.
Wow. Where to start! That was awesome, Pastor Jeff. I agree with so much of what you said, Jeff. I don’t know where to start. If we are not anchored, grounded, in the Lord and His Word, we are in big trouble. I think so many of us make everything about ourselves. As you said, people want something that works for them. But we know, from God’s Word, that it is not what works for us, it’s what does God want? When we turn to God, we will not be lead in the wrong direction. And again, as you said, He will guide us. But the most important thing that I got from this Podcast, was stay in the Word, stay close to God. Know the scripture so that we can give people hope, and Biblical answers. God is the Counselor.
Donald, I went back a reread Psalm 32:8-9 after reading your comment. Going into this course, my one hesitation was “are we just going to get man’s instructions for how to gloss over problems?” I came into this course with the intent of learning how to direct the hurt and broken to the Healer, to God Himself. My nature is to not do this in a graceful way, but if I allow the Holy Spirit to use me, then whatever He guides is the right way. Even if it’s with a bridle.
I appreciated the imagery of being anchor and not being able to drift far with a good, solid anchor. I feeling like so much of christian counsel these days are Bible washed. Just enough to sound right but at the heart of it, it’s a self-help, man filled philosophy. Psalm 32:8 really brought home that only God should be doing the counseling and instructing. This also made me ponder if I really believe in the sufficiency of scripture. I do but am I turning to God’s word before I seek man’s advice. This is definitely an area I need to grow in.
We live in such a world, especially now where we tend to seek after self. I remember one time my Pastor speaking about this very topic, he said “If I were to take a picture of the congregation, and posted it, who are you going to look for first?” Yourself!
This shows that it is ingrained in us as humans, to seek self. Gods word says to seek HIM.
I love the verse Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is older he will not depart from it. Much like us in our walk with with The Lord, being trained up in HIS Word and guided by His Spirit.
Angela, After I read your comment, this is exactly what I thought about, How we as humans like to have our own way, but our way is so much harder. God tells us, the way we should go and how to get through it.
Ilene, I agree as well and do feel that many times, we feel that we just can do it all on our own. This is why I feel so many that do not know the Lord believe this. I know I once did. I felt that my life was to helpless for God (silly I know, but really I felt like I was too messy for him) the sad part about that is, many many people feel this way. I am praying for all of us on this journey in 2022 to continue our education and be certified to go out, share the Gospel and make disciples, leaning on our Lord and Savior, and Wonderful Counselor.
Serena- I felt that way once as well. It’s amazing to see how God gets a hold in your life and completely changes everything. I can’t speak for everyone but I think many of us have experienced that, and want to be able to see others who are feeling the same way we did before Christ changed us, to come to have that life change.
Angela, absolutely. New life in Christ is so refreshing, HIS plans are far greater than our own. Thanking HIM for saving. us, redeeming us and using us for HIS Glory and Kingdom.
Pastor Jeff, mentioned Psalm 32:8 which spoke volumes to me but if you read verse 9, David describes the repercussions if we don’t allow God to counsel us. Those that don’t seek God as their counselor are like horses and mules. They have no understanding and need to be corrected with a bit or a bridle. If you know horses the bit and bridle are instrument of discomfort and pain to get the animal to do what they should do. When we don’t remember that God is our counselor and we seek counsel from men we will experience unnecessary pain and hardship as we try to discover the way we should go. I have talked to many people who went to secular counselors and have not found an answer to their issues. Even have suffered more hardship as they followed the instructions of man. I have heard those same people talk about the difference in their lives when they listened to God’s counsel found in His Word.
Donald, I love that depiction. It is so true!en man counsels man, they cannot seem to get to the pain, hurt, trauma, etc There is no word, exercise or tool that can get to the inner most parts of a person. The only one that can is The Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit knows where and how to get into the areas and truly heal and give a hope and an assurance that He is there and will guide and lead.
Ilene I loved your comments. It seems so obvious that of course God is our counselor He is the Creator of the universe, He is omnipotent, He is omnipresent who wouldn’t take counsel from someone who is everywhere and knows everything. But it is so easy to drift into man’s way of thinking. So often we know what God’s Word says and what his counsel is but we don’t take His counsel because it may disagree with what our culture says or the main stream current thoughts. We will fight that throughout our Biblical Counseling ministry. I have seen Christian men and women make decisions knowing that their decision is in direct opposition to God’s counsel from His Word. Thanks for your comments and the reminder of who made this world.
“In the beginning, God created…”. It is through God, by God, and for God that we exist. Through faith, we believe this to be true. So why would we doubt that the God who created all things is not sufficient to counsel us? Or is that the wrong question? Do we believe that God is sufficient to counsel, but not follow through? These are the thoughts I have as I consider the truth of God’s word spoken in Isaiah 9:6, that “His name will be called Wonderful Counselor.” If we believe that He is the Wonderful Counselor, the “One who will instruct us and teach us in the way we should go, and counsel us with His eye upon us” as David proclaimed in Psalm 32:8, why would we ever consider humanistic counsel? As Pastor Jeff stated in the podcast, the Lord is the Counselor, and that is the anchor to biblical counsel, which ultimately is sufficient.
I love what you both (Ilene and Donald) have to say. Too many times as Christians we get caught up in the world and want too much of what it has to offer. We say we want God’s counsel, but what we really mean is that we want Him to agree with the way that we want to go, because we want to stay comfortable–we want to be able to keep living in a way that we know God will ask us to let go. As Ilene stated, we were created by God for Him. Psalm 100:3- “Know that the Lord, He is God; not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture.” I know I fought that myself many years ago, and it wasn’t until I came to truly understand that my life was not my own, and that I needed to follow God’s direction (counsel) that I came to truly be free as a Christian. Amen, God alone is our Counselor!
We live in such a world, especially now where we tend to seek after self. I remember one time my Pastor speaking about this very topic, he said “If I were to take a picture of the congregation, and posted it, who are you going to look for first?” Yourself!
This shows that it is ingrained in us as humans, to seek self. Gods word says to seek HIM.
I love the verse Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is older he will not depart from it. Much like us in our walk with with The Lord, being trained up in HIS Word and guided by His Spirit.
Angela, After I read your comment, this is exactly what I thought about, How we as humans like to have our own way, but our way is so much harder. God tells us, the way we should go and how to get through it.
Ilene, I agree as well and do feel that many times, we feel that we just can do it all on our own. This is why I feel so many that do not know the Lord believe this. I know I once did. I felt that my life was to helpless for God (silly I know, but really I felt like I was too messy for him) the sad part about that is, many many people feel this way. I am praying for all of us on this journey in 2022 to continue our education and be certified to go out, share the Gospel and make disciples, leaning on our Lord and Savior, and Wonderful Counselor.
Welcome BCA 2022!