Advice
"Advice
is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn't."
He
that gives good advice, builds with one hand; he that gives good counsel
and example, builds with both; but he that gives good admonition and bad
example, builds with one hand and pulls down with the other. Francis Bacon
Have
you ever asked for advice from someone or had someone ask for advice from
you? It is an interesting concept. Advice is when you give an opinion or
recommendation as a guide to action or conduct.
I
was reading in Daniel when I thought about how many times Daniel gave King
Nebuchadnezzar advice about his dreams and the interpretation of them. We can often be like the King.There
are times when we seek advice from others with no intention of taking the
advice. It is kind of an exercise in
futility. We know that something we plan
to do is not going to be good for us, but we ask someone else for advice just
in case they might agree with us.
We see an example of this in Daniel. The King asked Daniel to interpret his dream
and Daniel was troubled. Daniel 4:20-22 “The tree that
you saw, which grew and became strong, whose height reached to the heavens and
which could be seen by all the earth, whose leaves were lovely
and its fruit abundant, in which was food for all, under which the beasts of
the field dwelt, and in whose branches the birds of the heaven had their home— it is you, O king, who have grown and become strong; for your greatness
has grown and reaches to the heavens, and your dominion to the end of the
earth.
The
thing about the dream is that the first part wasn’t the end. Daniel warned the King in Daniel 4:26-27 “And
inasmuch as they gave the command to leave the stump and roots of the tree,
your kingdom shall be assured to you, after you come to know that Heaven rules.
Therefore, O king, let my advice be acceptable to you; break off
your sins by being righteous, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor.
Perhaps there may be a lengthening of your prosperity.”
God
had great mercy on the King. He could
have taken his kingdom away from him totally, but instead he left the stump and
roots of the tree so that the King had another chance to understand God’s greatness.
We do the same thing. We get advice from friends, family, pastors
and other God fearing people, but we often discount the advice as not applying
to us. We become like King
Nebuchadnezzar. We look around us and
survey our kingdom and say “man I did good.”
In reality it is God who did good.
We allow pride to interfere with God’s blessing on our lives. Daniel 4:30 The king spoke, saying, “Is not this great
Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the
honor of my majesty?”
When
King Nebuchadnezzar realized it was not his strength but God’s that was his
source of accomplishment, he realized the error of his ways and praised God.
Daniel 4:34-35 And at
the end of the time I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my
understanding returned to me; and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored
Him who lives forever: For His dominion is
an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom is from generation to generation. All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; He does according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His hand or say to Him, “What have You done?”
Prayer for the Day: Heavenly
Father, too many times we allow pride to rule in our lives. We start thinking that we know everything and
don’t need to seek advice from others.
When that happens sometimes we reject the blessing that You want for
us. Help me Father to trust Your ways,
follow Your advice and learn from my mistakes.
You are the best teacher in all the universe and You mean it for my
good.
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