Another day,
Counselors ask questions. Not so they can only obtain information. They hope to lure the participant into a time of evaluation which can detect a present situation for the purpose of moving beyond that s
tatus and into a much better condition.
What if we let God counsel, ask, listen, and advise? Today, let’s try it. Investigate yourself and answer. The confessions can locate problems and motivate us toward solutions. Use portions of Scripture if you want. But take time to think, to pray, to answer with honesty.
Here are the questions:
When you think about God, what image comes to your mind? If you could hear God speaking to you right now, what would He say? Why would He say that to you? What question would He ask? Why would He ask you that question? How would you answer Him?
Are you afraid of God? Why? What would He say to you about that fear? How can fearing God be good, and how can it be bad?
Why do you believe in Him? What has hindered your conversations and experiences with God? How can you keep that from happening?
What does God want to change in your life? How can He help make that change a reality? How can you allow Him?
Along the way,
Chris Maxwell
Pause: “Anyone on God’s side listens to God’s words. This is why you’re not listening–because you’re not on God’s side” (John 8:47, The Message).
Many times I struggle with turning “brain knowledge” into “heart knowledge”. The difference between the two is that brain knowledge can influence how I act, but heart knowledge compels or repels certain action. Much of my knowledge is brain knowledge that I desperately want to be heart knowledge. That is something that comes with time and grace. Patience is not a word I like to think about, but maybe its time I stop living based on what makes me feel comfortable.
I love that God is called our “great counselor.” When I think of him this way, I don’t see him sitting in a big black chair while I lay on a counseling couch with tissues in hand. Instead, I see at times a best friend and at other times a father sitting and listening to his daughters concerns. Then I hear him encourage and love and advise. He is the best counselor and the greatest example to me as a future marriage counselor.
I love the fact that we can turn to God in any situation and he will be there to help us out and to just listen to us talk about what is going on and sometimes he is there to talk to us to help us get through a situation when we listen to him. I love how he is always there for us no matter what situation we are in.
I am so thankful that Jesus is meets us in the valleys, on the mountains, and the walking in between. He is the Good Shepherd who never leads somewhere He won’t go, yet that’s had to fully understand at times. I am learning that life may bring seasons, some better than others, He is always constant and always good. When we rely on Christ, we can have full hearts and complete joy even in the hardest times when we don’t understand how He is working.
Our image of God changes how much we can accept Him and what He says. We might think that we see Him purely as the biblical image He gave us, but all too often, we let our experiences with the world dictate our view of God. For me, I did not realize that until I drew a picture of me and God. My professor asked each of us to draw how it looks when we have pleased God and what it looks like when we have disappointed God. I never would have realized how wrong my picture of God was if I had not seen my picture.
One question that has been popping up lately in my time with God is, “Do you only fear me, Wyatt?” I know that fearing man is against what God wants. With approaching, witnessing, or spreading the Gospel, I believe fearing God totally and not fearing man helps us to be more genuine in what we are trying to spread.
“Secret Place”. That’s the word of this season. God wants me to wake up early every morning and spend hours with Him. It can be very tough at times but i must be obedient. What He has prepared for me next in ministry can only be unveiled by falling in love with this spiritual discipline.
“Do you trust me?” the impending question for the past year. Valley seems like to light a word to describe the season of life I’m in. It’s more like a barren wilderness valley where a monsoon, tornado, earthquake, wildfire, thunderstorm and angry horde have destroyed everything in their wake. Stripping me of everything I once knew and returning me to rebellious rubble. Amidst that rubble, the Lord never ceases to inquire “Do you trust me?” Each day I realize in order to truly survive and rebuild, I am left with no other choice but to trust him.
I love that i serve God who can counsel me and answer the many questions of my life. Too often i am afraid to ask the important ones, i shy away because i am afraid. Afraid that i have come up short in certain areas and unworthy to approach Him. I have been fooled by this trick i play on myself. He wants me to ask Him and myself important questions. He wants me to place all my questions, fears, anxieties at His feet and trust Him.
Sometimes I have issues with fully surrendering things to God in my life. Because I can be stubborn, I find myself trying to do things on my own and when I fail, I’ll often question God but then realize that if I would have asked His help in the first place, perhaps I wouldn’t be here on the ground.