… my immediate response was not to consult any human being.
Summary: There comes a time in most people’s lives when we have to make a choice. Who are we going to serve? Who are we going to follow? The ultimate choice is choosing between personal pride and submitting to God.
Who do you talk to when you don’t know what to do?
Paul was in a quandary. His entire life had been focused on becoming a Pharisee. Everything he had known confirmed his goal and brought him into closer alignment with it. The prestige and glory of being a leader of the Pharisees was almost his. He could taste it.
And then he met Jesus.
When that happened, when he tasted the Lord instead of worldly success, he was overcome by a hunger for more Jesus.
What to do?
Should Paul go back to the chief Priest and explain what happened? Should Paul ask his friends and the leaders of the Pharisees what to think about all this?
No, that wouldn’t do. Paul was man enough to make his own decisions. He understood that Jesus was more real than anything he had ever encountered. What Paul needed, and what the Lord led Paul to do, was to get away.
Spending three years in another part of the world allowed Paul to unplug from his prior life. People may have wondered what happened to him, but memories would fade. Perhaps an occasional rumor about Paul was carried back to Jerusalem by travelers or traders, but it didn’t matter. He was far away.
During the three years in Arabia, Paul had time to think. He had time to learn from Jesus, too. When Paul met Jesus, he understood who Jesus was instantly. Yet understanding who Jesus is and knowing what Jesus wants us to know are two different things. Paul had a lot of learning to catch up on.
More importantly, he had only one person to answer to: Jesus Christ.
We can’t know exactly what happened to Paul during his three years in Arabia, but we do know what he didn’t do. He didn’t ask other people for their opinions. The encounter with Jesus was a defining moment for Paul. It forced Paul to confront his inner values. He had to answer the question, “Who do I serve?”
Before this moment, Paul thought he served God, but in reality, he served the Pharisees, the chief Priest, and the Sanhedrin. These were the only Jewish authorities he had known. Then he met Jesus, the ultimate Jewish Authority. When that happened, Paul had to make a choice, and he chose Jesus.
Application: Choose Jesus, too.
Food for Thought: How do we know when to seek the counsel of others and when to decide for ourselves?
How do we know when to seek the counsel of others and when to decide for ourselves?
I think that a wise person seeks the council of people of faith who know better on certain topics.
But when to decide for ourselves? Is it OK to say after you seek wise counsel. Don’t you ultimately decide for yourself even after getting others opinions?
Prov. 15:22, “Without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counsellors they are established.”
Prov. 1:5, “A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:” Prov. 12:15,“The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise.”
Prov. 19:20-21, “Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end. There are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand.”
I shall see what others have to say before I make up my mind.
Thank you, Tim!
Wise words! 🙂
Good comments T. And good verses to pull from. There is much in the biblical wisdom literature that encourages us to seek godly counsel – as T pointed out. God can speak to us through the counsel of other believers. But the final say is always God’s word, which is useful for teaching, reproof, for correction and for training in righteousness (2 Timothy 3: 16 – 17). So when we hear counsel from others we still evaluate it through the grid of scripture as the ultimate authority – because the Author of Scripture is the ultimate authority.
The Bereans in Acts 17:11 – 12 is another example of this.
Thanks Rich!
I appreciate you pointing us to God’s Word, just as Tim did. The counsel of God is what we really need.
I like the comments thus far.
I would only add, as believers, in seeking the will of God through His scripture and in prayer, when are we not without counsel? I think there are times when we have the capacity to understand what the Spirit is laying on our hearts, and in that sense, we have an abundance. Also, I think there are times when we do not have the capacity to understand, and in that sense, we have a need. When we seek the counsel of other believers, an equality of understanding under Christ comes about, and builds up the body of Christ.
2 Corinthians 8:13-14 For this is not for the ease of others and for your affliction, but by way of equality— at this present time your abundance being a supply for their need, so that their abundance also may become a supply for your need, that there may be equality;
Chris,
Yes! God’s counsel is essential, and the Spirit is our Counselor!
01-05-2024, How do we know when to seek the counsel of others and when to decide for ourselves?
Wise counsel T and R.
Jeremiah 32:17, “Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.”
Psalm 12:12, “My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.”
James 4:14-15, “Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.’”
Every believer should know they have been chosen, predestined according to God’s plan, who does all things according to His perfect counsel. God is Sovereign, His counsel is perfect and freely given. My wife and I spend every morning in private bible studies and spend every afternoon sharing God’s word with each other as we go on our one hour walk. We lead a quiet life as children of God seeking His guidance Spirit ilumiated scripture regarding how we live our lives.
Thanks Ron!
“God is Sovereign, His counsel is perfect and freely given.”
– Amen!