God is our greatest counselor and mentor.
Wonderful, Counselor. I know these words describe Christ, but He is the living embodiment of all the attributes of our Father in Heaven. He came to earth to teach us who our Father is, to help us know Him better. I have come to know even more that God, our Eternal Father, truly is a wonderful counselor.
I was getting my children breakfast one morning, distracted by an unseen weight on my shoulders and in my heart when I had the thought, “Have a counseling session with your Father (in heaven). Treat it as you would another appointment.” My mind started turning. What do I do differently when I have an appointment with another person, that I could apply to my prayers? –prepare some questions, block time off, get a babysitter. Such a helpful thought. I have often thought of a scripture from The Book of Mormon: “Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings and He shall direct thee for good.” (Alma 37:37) I’ve tried to apply that directive to pray in a way where I’m asking and receiving. But the thought that entered my mind was another little drop of light and understanding to shift my understanding of my relationship with my Father. He is my greatest, all-knowing Counselor.
That day, my husband was out of town. I was really struggling in this moment to know how to help my son with the big emotions his little body was experiencing. I was also involved in my own personal wrestle– an internal wrestle regarding an unresolved situation involving a few other individuals. I felt the negative emotions and thoughts from the unresolved situation clogging up my heart and mind, and my connection with heaven.
When my husband returned from his business trip, I found the time to have my “counseling session” with God. It wasn’t as long or formal as a true appointment may have been, but I poured out my heart to my Father. I expressed all the feelings I was having. I prayed for deliverance and release from the sorrow and confusion I was feeling. I shared how I didn’t know how to navigate myself through this experience and needed help. This thought entered my mind: “All that is unfair about life can be made right through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.” (a line from Preach My Gospel) That thought guided the direction of my prayer. I prayed that through Christ, the best thing might come from this experience and that I could learn from it what I needed to. Clarity and peace came. The troubled seas of my heart were calmed, just like they have been countless times before. He truly has “proved [to me] in days that are passed” that He will always calm those troubled waters which are difficult to navigate on my own.
Just like many situations though, I needed to have several “follow-up appointments” with my Father in heaven about the questions I was struggling with over the weeks that followed. Like fog that slowly lifts to reveal a clear vista, solutions slowly came. They came both through conversations had with others and as quiet impressions during and after prayer. I received answers that were clearly from an all-knowing, all-seeing Father. In the words of Richard G. Scott, these answers were like “packets of light that illuminate our minds”.
God is our greatest counselor and mentor. I believe in reaching out to others and receiving all the help and knowledge and wisdom others have to offer. I believe everyone is blessed with gifts that can strengthen and help someone else on their personal journey. Often another person’s words or kind actions are the very answers to our prayers. But, this experience has brought to my mind some wise counsel from Jeffrey R. Holland, “My desire today is for all of us…to have more straightforward personal experience with the Savior’s example. Sometimes we seek heaven too obliquely, focusing on programs or history or the experience of others. Those are important but not as important as personal experience, true discipleship, and the strength that comes from experiencing firsthand the majesty of His touch.”
My invitation to you is to seek having a personal experience with “the majesty of His touch”. Set some time aside and counsel with Heavenly Father in prayer. Plead for help, understanding, deliverance, or whatever it is you need to replace confusion, doubt, or negativity you may be feeling. Seek for answers to the questions of your soul. Engage in the wrestle–don’t give up! Then be still and listen. Even if you need to get up and continue going about your day, open your heart and mind up to heaven. Consider these words to a favorite hymn as you are seeking.
Let the Holy Spirit guide;
let him teach [you] what is true…
Let the Spirit heal your heart,
through his quiet, gentle power.
Please share any thoughts you have below!
Editing by Dani Davis
Photo by Dawid Sobolewski on Unsplash
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