Receive Instruction

Pro 19:20 Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end. 

Have you ever spent time talking with a know-it-all? It seems they know more about everything than you do about anything.  Have you ever taken time to sit with and counsel someone and every time you tried to instruct them from God's Word they told you the course they thought was best?    What is the problem with this person?  They are not teachable.  They will not receive instruction.  You may try to help them for a while, but in the end you throw up and your hands in desperation and leave them to set their own course.

The Bible instructs us in Proverbs 19:20 to hear counsel and receive instruction.  We have to be careful of where we receive our counsel and instruction!  The counselors and instructors that I seek after are those who take God's word and use it as the source of their instruction.  Opinions only go so far.  Opinions are the wisdom of man.  When the storms of life are blowing fierce in my life and I don't know which way to turn I can trust a Christian that points me to the answer in God's Word.  God's Word is the compass that I need to set my life by.  I can find God's solutions to my life's problems.  It's a wonderful thing when a Christian friend who has gone through the same thing in their life can sit down and share how God helped them.  They can encourage me through sharing how God's grace was sufficient in their time of need.  They can encourage me by taking time to share from God's Word and pray with me.  Thank God for a good church that can surround you with the love of God during difficult times.

The Bible says that the result of man that will hear counsel and receive instruction is that they will be wise in their latter end.  If we take counsel and instruction from God's Word and allow it to impact our life the end result will be that we will become wise.  Not with the wisdom of man, but the wisdom that God teaches in His Word.

Be teachable!  No matter how long we live we'll never know all there is to know about the Christian life.  We will definitely never learn everything about God's Word.  Keep learning, studying and applying what you learn and God will greatly bless your life.