Safety on the Journey

Safety on the Journey

"Listen to counsel and receive instruction, that you may be wise in your latter days." (Proverbs 19:20)

"Where there is no counsel, the people fall; but in the multitude of counselors there is safety." (Proverbs 11:14)

We have too many lone rangers among those who read Freedom Fighters. We think we can do this "Christian thing" all by ourselves, without the aid of those who are farther down the road in their walk with Jesus. Please hear the above verses from Proverbs! We're not designed to go it alone.

Let's think about the fourth word in our consideration of soul care.
We've already thought about hunger, time and discipline. Now we need to put "accountability" on the table. To whom have you given the freedom to question and encourage you in the area of soul care? If you have no one like that, you need to find someone.

I have three good friends who have agreed to hold me accountable for personal purity and spiritual growth. They know they have the freedom to ask any question they think necessary. As the wisdom writer said, people without counsel fall. People with good counsel have safety.
Which would you prefer, the possibility of falling or the security of safety?

In just over a year I'll celebrate forty years of vocational ministry.
Too many friends have fallen in those years. Too many colleagues refused counsel from those who loved them. Too many men in the churches I've served refused to let other men into their lives. I've seen too many divorces and too many people fall out of fellowship because they isolated themselves.

Your soul--your eternal soul--is far too valuable to guard on your own.
God designed us to have companions on the journey. He designed us for fellowship and accountability. If you don't have that wise counsel and security, it's time to seek it out. You may already be in a small group that might work. You may want to start a small group with other men in your church, making soul care accountability a foundation for the group.
Talk to your pastor about your desire for accountability. Ask him what he thinks might work in your setting.

If you want to take your accountability to another level, you might want to think about a spiritual director. I've been meeting with a spiritual director for almost a year, and it has proved incredibly beneficial.
You can contact me through Bill Welte if you have questions about spiritual direction.

The most important thing is that you choose not to make this journey alone. We all need companions. We all need wise counsel. We all need the safety that comes from traveling with those who share our concern for our souls. - Pastor John Strain is Senior Pastor of First Baptist of Toms River and our weekend Freedom Fighter contributor.

Great Quote -- Have you been holding back from a risky, costly course to which you know in your heart God has called you? Hold back no longer.
Your God is faithful to you, and adequate for you. You will never need more than He can supply, and what He supplies, both materially and spiritually, will always be enough for the present. James I (J. I.) Packer