February 2020  by Sheologie

The God of All Counsel

Whom do you look to for guidance in life? Oprah? That one Instagram influencer? The self-help books at the store? I believe you don’t need to be looking to another teaching, another book, or another podcast for help with whatever you’re going through. I believe you need an encounter with the living God. You need to experience His presence and grow in your understanding of who He is. And one of His essential traits is that He’s the God of all counsel.

But we sure like to question God’s counsel, don’t we? In Isaiah 40, God flipped the script and asked His people a few questions instead. I think He would ask you these same questions today:

1. Who compares to Me? “To whom then will you liken Me, or to whom shall I be equal?” (v. 25). Here, God was rebuking His people’s wrong thoughts about Him; they were thinking too little of Him.

How big is your God? Is He big enough for cancer, divorce, disappointment, or whatever issue you’re facing? Maybe you need to reframe and think bigger thoughts about Him. “‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,’ says the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts'” (Isaiah 55:8-9).

2. Who can hide from Me? “Why do you say…’My way is hidden from the Lord, and my just claim is passed over by my God?'” (v. 27). In other words, “Who are you to question Me?” This reveals wrong thoughts about ourselves; we make ourselves too big. It also reveals how little we trust God’s care.

We believe in God’s sovereignty when things are going our way. But what if your husband becomes addicted to porn or you have to file for bankruptcy? When you’re suffering, God is still in control; He hasn’t abandoned you, and He never will (see Matthew 28:20; Hebrews 13:5).

3. Who controls your destiny? “Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord, or as His counselor has taught Him? With whom did He take counsel, and who instructed Him, and taught Him in the path of justice?” (vv. 13-14). Nobody, because He’s God.

Yet we still like to give God a little diagram of how we want our lives to unfold: “I’m going to get married when I’m twenty-nine. I’m going to have two children, first a boy, then a girl. You like it, God? I came up with this plan all on my own.” And then when things don’t go as we planned, we say, “Listen, God, You got this all wrong. This isn’t how it was supposed to be.” Oh, really? Who’s the one who’s really directing your path?

Solomon said in Proverbs 16:9 that “a man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.” That’s a great place to rest, isn’t it? He’s a big God, a good God, and a sovereign God. And His counsel is unbeatable. So lean into His sovereign control today, knowing and trusting that He is guiding your every step.0