Thursday, September 13, 2012 -- Wise Counselors (5)

We need help from all those who can enlarge our vision and broaden our perspective.  Here are some ways a sponsor, mentor, or counselor can help us get to know ourselves, God's will for our lives, and identify practical ways to put this new knowledge into practice. With a sponsor or mentor we may discuss in detail, troubling issues that are too personal to share, or would take up too much time in a group meeting. A sponsor is available in times of crisis or potential relapse.  A mentor or counselor serves as a sounding board by providing an objective point of view. A sponsor is there to encourage us to work through recovery principles at our own speed, neither too slowly nor too quickly.  They encourage, support, and challenge us out of apathy, as is appropriate.  Most of all, a mentor or sponsor attempts to model the lifestyle that results from personally working the steps.  Surrounding all other counsel, we need the help of the Holy Spirit who lives within us and who is sent by God to guide us into all truth.

Jesus said: “There is so much more I want to tell you, but you can’t bear it now.  When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. (John 16:12-13 NLT)

When we look for wise counsel we need to not only find a wise person but we need to share honestly with them. They can't read our minds.  They can't help us much if they only have some of the facts.  Once we've shared our story or questions with them, we need to pay attention and listen to what is being said. Our hope in seeking them out for wisdom is that they will provide us with new information or help us to see things we've missed.  They are there to help us recognize where the wounds of our past have twisted our view of reality and to suggest ways to both receive healing and correctly view situations before us. We need to respond to the honest feedback we are given by a wise counselor or sponsor with humility and, unless it truly violates principles we know from God's word to be true, we need to give it our best effort to think and act in the new way they are suggesting. 

(God says) This is what I told them: "Obey me, and I will be your God, and you will be my people. Do everything as I say, and all will be well!" But my people would not listen to me. They kept doing whatever they wanted, following the stubborn desires of their evil hearts. They went backward instead of forward. (Jeremiah 7:23-24 NLT)