Devotion 2: Courtroom of Life

Pastor Philip Piasecki

While I was in college, I held a lot of interesting jobs. I worked at a daycare for a couple of years, running around with the four and five-year-old kids. Then I got a job at a doctor’s office as a Specimen Processor (running tests on blood), which I was not qualified to do. Lastly, I worked at the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office as a student worker. This job was incredibly interesting as I got to see the inner workings of the judicial system. One of my jobs was to put together case files of arrests from the night before. I saw some really interesting things, also some pretty brutal and sad things. The most nerve-racking part of the job was when we would have to run files over to the courthouse. I would have to walk into a courtroom while a trial was taking place, and give the file to the prosecutor that needed it. I would get to see the defendant’s legal counsel giving them advice on what to answer, how to proceed, and what to say to the judge. Thinking back on these courtroom scenes, I cannot help but think about Jesus, our Wonderful Counselor.

The courtroom scene may be a bit dramatic, but we all find ourselves in situations where we are looking for counsel. The question is from where and to whom are we looking for this advice? I think of the story of Job, and how he looked to his friends for counsel, and they gave him terrible advice. I have seen many Christians slowly fall away from Christ because they continue to follow ungodly counsel in their lives. Jesus Christ, He is the Wonderful Counselor. He is the one that we need to be looking toward every day in our lives. I know that many times in the heat of the moment, we are faced with making decisions quickly. We may not have time to stop, pray about a decision, and then make that decision. This is why we need to be asking Christ for wisdom every day.

James 1:5 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.”

I think we can all acknowledge that we lack wisdom. Luckily for all of us, God gives wisdom generously to all who just ask! Our Wonderful Counselor will give us the wisdom that we need to make godly decisions in any situation that we may face. Think twice before you seek worldly counsel, and seek counsel from the Wonderful Counselor.