03022019 Counsel When Alone

Dear Missionary Lady,

Does anyone want some of my snow? We just had our second storm in two days with another one expected tomorrow. Actually, none of them are monstrous snows, and overall the winter hasn't been too bad - numerous small storms, but no huge ones. It is this time of year, however, when we get into March, that I start looking forward to spring with greater hope. Spring will come, as it always does, because of the determination of a faithful God to make it so.

That isn't the only area in which God shows His faithfulness. I have recently been spending time in Psalm 119, and I noted some interesting things in the Gimel stanza (vs. 17-24). As I read through the stanza, I was struck with the impression that the psalmist was alone, and that he was particularly aware of that solitary condition because he was in a position where he wanted help.

I saw his solitude in v. 19. "I am a stranger in the earth." I saw it in his disassociation from other people who lived around him in v. 21. "Thou hast rebuked the proud that are cursed, which do err from thy commandments." I saw it in the opposition he faced from others, from the establishment, actually, in v. 23. "Princes also did sit and speak against me."

This man did not feel loved and accepted. He was not surrounded with people who supported him, shared his values, or thought the same way he thought. The inhabitants of his immediate world were not helping him in his efforts to live for God, and they certainly were not capable of guiding and encouraging him when he needed direction.

This world is not our home. Some of you sense that more acutely than others. Some of you live in situations where the government and the whole of society is adamantly opposed to Christianity. Some of you live in highly secularized societies, in which God is nothing more than an empty tradition. Some of you are constantly surrounded with drugs, violence, and immorality. The situations in which you live and the things you regularly see are a burden, a concern, and a constant reminder that this world is not your home.

Living as a stranger, however, does not free us from the need for support and counsel. We may look around and not find any reliable counselors or faithful sources of wisdom, but that doesn't mean we don't need it. So where do we turn when we need help and can't find any?

We turn just where the psalmist turned. He also needed help, longed for support, and craved good counsel. He found that counsel in the Bible. "Thy testimonies also are my delight and my counsellors" (v. 24). This man needed something to guide his steps, and he found it.

This was not an easy answer, however. He had to plead for and search for the counsel. "Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law" (v. 18). "Hide not thy commandments from me" (v. 19). These prayers of petition give the impression that he did not easily or immediately find the answers. He felt lost for a while, not seeing what to do. In that situation, he was a little desperate. After all, the Bible was essentially his only source of counsel; it does not appear that he had anywhere else to turn.

Extended and deliberate time in the Word always leads to guidance, and the psalmist had the right attitude and right dependence on the Word. "My soul breaketh for the longing that it hath unto thy judgments at all times" (v. 20). "I have kept thy testimonies" (v. 22). "Thy servant did meditate in thy statutes" (v. 23). "Thy testimonies also are my delight" (v. 24).

You face a variety of challenges every day - with family, direction of ministry, situations with particular individuals, and much more. You may not have any reliable counselors to turn to. Or, those counselors might be so far removed geographically that they can't adequately grasp your situation, and it may not be very convenient to communicate effectively with them. God has the answers for every situation. In a world where Christians are strangers and where the counsel offered by the world falls empty, God can use His Word to guide His earnestly seeking children.

Don't despair. God has answers for you. As you seek Him, He will guide you. Even when you have no other humans to look to for guidance or confirmation, God alone is enough. "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him" (James 1:5).

I pray that God will give you guidance and wisdom this week for the decisions you need to make and for dealing with the situations that are too hard for you. May something you have been laboring over and wondering about for a long time finally open up in clear direction. What you do today matters for eternity, and God has every desire to guide you in doing the right things. May He be your faithful and reliable Counselor!

Love in Christ,

Peggy Holt
member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA
www.pressingontohigherground.blogspot.com