September 18, 2010 - Sirach 37:12-15 - Counsel

From the Apocryphal book of Sirach, also known as the book of Ecclesiasticus:

"But associate with a godly person whom you know to be a keeper of the commandments,
who is like-minded like yourself, and who will grieve with you if you fail.
And heed the counsel of your own heart, for no one is more faithful to you than it is.
For your own mind sometimes keeps us better informed than seven sentinels sitting high on a watchtower.
But above all pray to the Most high that He may direct your way in truth."

The wisdom and truth of this strikes home for me. For the first part, godly people will warn you when you are about to make a horrible mistake. A godly person will tell you the truth, even when you don't want to hear it. Maybe especially when you don't want to hear it. A godly person will risk losing you as a friend in order to save your soul. I thank God for those godly friends who told me what I needed to hear, even when their words seem to fall on deaf ears, because of my own hard-heartedness, my own stiff-necked pride, my own self-deception. I thank God for those who said..."LOOK! A cliff! And you're about to fall over!" Even when I paid no attention, my spirit was listening, my spirit heard and understood and wept over my disobedience.

My own heart gave me good counsel. It did. I just chose to ignore it. I saw what I wanted to see. I heard what I wanted to hear. I did what I wanted to do. And I paid a high, high price.

"But above all pray to the Most High that He may direct your way in truth." In the end, this is where mercy is found, in the arms of a loving God who knows the disobedience of one's heart, the deception of one's own mind, and the sin of pride we carry...and loves us anyway. All He asks is that we come to Him in true repentance, for His arms are open, and He will forgive and forget.

I am forgiven, but I have to confess that the forgetting part is hard for me. I am human, after all, and the memories still come, and they cause me much pain. I can't make them go away. I feel stuck, and it is difficult to move on. But each day I am further away from the source of my pain, it gets a little easier. I hope, when next some other issue comes to the front, I am able to accept the counsel of godly people in my life. I hope I can hear and heed the counsel of my own heart. And I pray that I will listen to my God, who only gives me counsel based on truth, and love, and mercy.

Blessings, Phoenix