Need Some Advice?

At some point in our lives, we all need some guidance and advice. Sometimes we look to counselors, mentors, or peers, but the one we should be looking to first, is God. We sometimes try to go to God first, but we never seem to get an answer from Him. Maybe that’s because we’re approaching Him the wrong way.

You see, we can go to God and say, “Hey God, I really need some help here, tell me what to do.” And then we sit there and wait, and wait, and wait some more. Eventually, we get tired of the silence and we move on to other sources of advice.

Has this been your experience? Maybe or maybe not. It was mine for a long time. I never really tried to get an answer from God. I just kind of went through the motions of “going to God first.” But there is a better way. God wants to give us advice, He wants to show us the way in which we are to walk. But we have to take the time, to search for Him, ask Him, wait on Him, and walk in the right path.

The first step in this process is to ask God to speak. And we can’t really do that when we’re not able to listen. We need to eliminate the distractions and find a place of quiet and solitude. This is exactly what Jesus did when He went to talk to His Father. You can read about it in Matthew 14: 22 - 23.

Once you have a quiet and distraction-free place, ask God to speak. Ask Him to tell you what you need to hear, not just what you want to hear. And ask Him to open your heart and mind to be willing to listen to what He has to say.

Now you need to be patient and wait. This waiting is not the “I’m so bored sitting in my close”" type of waiting. This waiting is an active waiting. Most of the time, God does not speak to us with an audible voice. He speaks to us through His Word. So, open your Bible and go to the concordance. Now, if you don’t have one in your Bible look up a concordance online. We are going to use the concordance to find out what God has to say.

This next step is going to depend on your situation. Whatever you asked God about, look up a key word that is specific to your situation in your concordance. For example, if I was asking God for advice on trusting someone, I would look up the word “trust” in the concordance. Choose some of those verses listed to look up and ask God to guide you and bring to your mind what He is trying to tell you while you read them.

After you’ve read the verses, thank God for whatever guidance you have received. Even a little light can brighten up a room. Remember what God has done for you in the past and thank Him for what His is doing in your life today.

Now, we can’t just stop there. What do we do after we’ve gone to God? Do we just go on our merry way and forget what He taught us? I don’t think so. We need to continue seeking Him and walking in the way He has showed us.

It may be easy to treat God like a fast-food drive-through, but that isn’t the way God works. He wants to guide every part of our day, to help us live to our fullest potential. To do this we need to remember that God’s way is best, even when it’s hard and we don’t understand. Romans 12:12 says “Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.” God will guide us where we need to go, we just have to let Him. God promises in Psalm 32:8 that “He will guide us along the best pathway for our lives. He will advise us and watch over us.” And we need to remember that we are not alone. God has sent His Holy Spirit to guide and strengthen us.

So, find a quiet place, ask God to speak, wait on Him, search His word for answers, ask Him to open your heart and mind, praise Him for all He has done, and walk in the path He has shown you.

Love,