“Where there is no [wise, intelligent] guidance, the people fall [and go off course like a ship without a helm], but in the abundance of [wise and godly] counselors there is victory” Proverbs 11:14, AMP.

I’ve been bowling before with our children and they don’t like their bowling balls to land in the gutter all the time. So we allow them to do bumper bowling. This type of lane has buffers on each side to prevent the bowling ball from going into the gutters, and guides it successfully down the lane to knock over the pins.

As His child, God will surround you with people with godly counsel and sound wisdom as bumpers, so you can avoid the gutters balls of life. He will use your parents, your pastor, your elders, your spouse, your professors, your friends, your team, your financial advisor, and others to be a buffer of wisdom for you. It will not be harmful, not self-seeking and will agree with God’s Word. They love you enough to give it, be wise enough to receive it. What they say may seem very small, but if you train yourself to listen, you will recognize that God is using them to be a bumper for me on my lane of life.

Above all, allow this to be your perspective on God’s Word. It is full of examples of what to do, and what not to do. So many men and women God wrote about for our learning. It is full of great buffers for living, because God loves you and truly desires to get you successfully where He desires you to go, without the gutter experiences, even more than you do.

Prayer: Father, thank You for the people that You use to provide godly counsel and wisdom to me. I don’t want to be a hard-headed man, but a wise one. I ask for Your help to recognize the people, the buffers sent from You in my life, and listen. Most of all, help me listen to Your Word. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Study: James 1:5, 3:17; Proverbs 3:17, 9:8