Friday, September 7, 2012 -- Wise Counsellors (1)

In recovery we learn new ways of looking at things, new ways of responding to issues and new guidelines for making decisions.  Our old patterns of thinking and living didn’t work very well.  Now that we are establishing healthy boundaries and behaviours, support from human counselors and others will help us move forward along the new path we have chosen. Those who come alongside us will listen as we share our story and perhaps make suggestions on how to cope with the changes we need to make as we move forward in our recovery.

The Bible says, Where there is no counsel, the people fall: but in the multitude of counselors there is safety. (Proverbs 11:14 NKJV)

When we surround ourselves with wise, dependable counselors, we are developing a safety net.  Good counsel can come from the Bible, from pastors, from friends who know and live for God, or from books and media that honour the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  When we admit our wrongs to other people they can also become a source of counsel for our lives.  They may be professionals who understand addiction and recovery.  They may be persons who know us and who share God’s wisdom with us or, perhaps they are people who have experienced what we’re now going through.

Two are better off than one, because together they can work more effectively.  If one of them falls down the other can help him up.  But if someone is alone … there is no one to help him … Two men can resist an attack that would defeat one man alone.  (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 GNT)