Seek Wise Counsel
In our previous write up on dealing with brokenness, we emphasized that acknowledging brokenness is a vital step in dealing with brokenness. We mentioned that if you are going through a situation that breaks you and causes you to be depressed, the solution is not in trying to soothe the pain. It is rather necessary to acknowledge this situation you are in and get help. We also established that the fundamental and ultimate place you will help is in Jesus Christ. Please if you have not read our previous write up, you can click on this link Acknowledging Brokenness and you would be able to access this write up.
Our focus in this write-up on dealing with brokenness is on “Seeking wise counsel”
“For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war: and in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.” (Proverbs 24: 6)
Skeletons thrive in the dark! One step of dealing with brokenness is opening up about the situation. Opening up does not necessarily mean telling everybody about your problems because not everyone can healthily handle information. Opening up when you are broken will entail identifying and talking to someone who can teach, guide, correct, provide encouragement or comfort and help you to take courageous steps towards healing from within. Talk to someone who can give wise counsel.
How then can we get wise counsel?
Pray for Wisdom and Discernment.
Even if you are not experiencing a difficult situation in life, we all regularly need wise counsel which helps in decision making, taking actions or responding to situations. The fundamental way of getting wise counsel is seeking God because it is God who gives wisdom. (Proverbs 2:6; James 1:5; Proverbs 4:5-7). The writer of an an article published by crosswalk.com said “…Wisdom comes when people seek God, respond to His work in and through them, and skillfully apply God’s principles in life. Wisdom is from God for God’s purposes. So we can seek wise counsel by praying for wisdom and discernment”. In 1 Kings 3:9-12, King Solomon prayed to God for a discerning heart to govern his people and God answered by giving Solomon a wise and discerning heart. Also, as believers, we receive God’s wisdom through the Holy Spirit who is our ultimate counselor. In John 14 to 16, Jesus introduces us to the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of truth who will guide us into all truths and teach us all things. Brokenness is usually a consequence of a previous circumstance or action. Sometimes, unknown to you, you may be trying to heal from the brokenness without cutting off the cause of the brokenness. What happens is that if the cause is not handled, the solutions you get may only be temporary and may resurface later. In times of brokenness, the Holy Spirit who guides us into all truths can reveal some of these unknown causes of brokenness, the Holy Spirit can also lead us to people or where we can find help, the Holy Spirit will sometimes comfort us by laying scriptures in our hearts which address the situation, the Holy Spirit can lead us on how to break out of the situation which causes brokenness such as taking a prayer program or reading a particular book etc.
Talk to someone
My mum always tells me that one of the greatest ways God has blessed her is with people. There will always be people who are mature, have wisdom and more experience that they can give wise counsel. Sometimes these people are not far from us. They may be a relative, colleague, friend, fellowship group member etc. In seasons when you feel broken, try to talk with people who can give wise counsel. Be sure that the person you talk to can healthily keep the information you give out and can give wise counsel. Take note of the fact that wise counsel will never cause you to act in ways that are contrary to God’s ways. The counsel may take different facets. It may be an advice or someone telling you what you need to know about a certain situation or how to handle a particular situation. Wise counsel will usually embody teaching, guiding, correcting, providing encouragement and comfort and in the case of brokenness, it will enable you to take courageous steps to heal from within. In Exodus 18:13-26, Moses was serving as judge for the numerous Israelites and they were around him from morning till evening. Moses’ father in-law Jethro advised him that working that way will wear him out. Jethro told Moses to continue being the people’s representative to God and teach God’s decrees, instructions and the way to live and behave. Notwithstanding, he advised Moses to get trustworthy men who fear God and make them officials to serve as judge over Israelite groupings and bring the difficult cases to Moses such that the work load on Moses will be lighter. Moses got help on how to carry out his duties as judge in Israel through the wise counsel of Jethro. God sends us help through people who can give us wise counsel.
Keep the right Company
Another way we can get godly counsel is by keeping the right company. Company here includes those people who belong to our innermost circle. These are usually people we talk to or listen to or hang out with and do many activities with. Our close company, whether known or unknown to us has a great impact on who we are becoming. Keeping a company which encourages us on how to positively handle situations will also be a source of encouragement and comfort to us in hard times and can help us take positive steps towards healing. On the other hand, we need to recognize that experiencing brokenness can make us vulnerable to depression, bitterness etc. The wrong company will only worsen situations for us.
Feed yourself with healthy information
We live in the technology and social media age hence we are exposed to much information and in one way or the other, what we listen to has an impact on our lives. One of the ways of getting counsel is intentionally getting information, especially godly information which can help you in what you are struggling with. Recently, I remember a friend who was going through a tough situation which caused a lot of heartache and pain telling me of the breakthrough she had after watching a Christian movie. While watching the movie, she testified of how she got insight on what was causing the situation she was facing and how she could handle the situations. She read the scriptures and followed the prayer program proposed by the movie and that was the commencement of her deliverance. There are many godly conferences, books, social media blogs, videos etc which give out information on dealing with brokenness which can help us in such seasons of pain.
I pray that God will help you handle any situation causing you pain and will lead you to people and sites with healthy information and teachings that will help in your healing process.