How to Get Good Godly AdviceSample

Day Two - One Family’s Story

I have some missionary friends who’d lived and ministered in a country for more than 12 years when the army of a neighboring nation invaded. The situation became fairly dangerous, and they felt led to return to America a little bit ahead of their regular furlough schedule.

So they gathered up their children and other American workers and came home. They spent the summer itinerating and vacationing. They prayed for that nation, and so did many of their church members and friends.

As you can imagine, as autumn grew nearer, they sought the Lord about whether to go back to that nation or not. Thankfully many changes had occurred and conditions were starting to get better. It looked as if they might be able to return without a problem.

I was so impressed, though, by the way they handled this major decision. They didn’t just say, “We’re people of faith! We’re going back!” No, they sought the Lord’s guidance, and they sought out the advice of several other missionaries and leaders in their ministerial organization. They told me, “We aren’t going to buy tickets or make any plans to return until we get the green light from them.”

Mind you, they had been missionaries for years. They had given advice to many, many other missionaries. They had prayed over this situation and were well able to hear from God themselves—they’d done it many times before. Seeking God’s guidance was a way of life for them, and many times a matter of success or failure, even life or death.

But they also knew that in the midst of the situation they faced, what was really needed was the impartial, wise advice of others—those who were on the outside of the situation and weren’t as invested in it. They knew that their emotions, their livelihood, their safety, and their love for the people in that country all could have been tugging on them, causing them to make the wrong decision. So they humbly asked for advice from their leaders. There is so much wisdom in that.

In the natural, there is safety in numbers, but’s true in the spiritual realm too. It’s a blessing to be in the body of Christ where we can get wise counsel from others and not have to make every major decision on our own.