What to Do, Part 4b…or maybe it’s number 5: Wise, Caring Advice

Plans fail for lack of counsel,

but with many advisers they succeed.

—Proverbs 15:22, New International Version (©2011)

Scripture.

Tradition.

Reason.

Experience.

They’re the four ways John Wesley would have us discern truth, make decisions, and sort stuff out.

I’d like to add a fourth: other people.  People we trust.  Wise counselors.  People who both know and care.

No matter how much you study and pray, you’ll never learn and understand all the depth of Scripture.

Traditions vary, and the one(s) we know are but a small sliver of the rainbow of what God’s people have said and done long before us.

Reason and “the good sense God gave you” are also by their very nature limited, no matter who we are; our individual abilities vary and we’re not always operating at peak capacity.

Your experience has gotten you this far, but is unlikely to take you to the next level.

All of those realities are part of the reason God has put us in the midst of people who care.

Some of us just pictured family members.  Some of us thought of a small group.  Some of us know genuine counselors.

You get the idea.

We don’t have to deal with the heavy things in our lives by ourselves, and there are times we shouldn’t even try.

Proverbs 15:22 has solid advice for you and me:  Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.

Like that old song from the movie Ghostbusters asks, “Who you gonna call?”  Or text?  Or look over at and clear your throat?

How and to whom do you reach out and ask for advice?