1 Samuel 8:19-22    But the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel. And they said, “No! But there shall be a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.” And when Samuel had heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the ears of the LORD. And the LORD said to Samuel, “Obey their voice and make them a king.” Samuel then said to the men of Israel, “Go every man to his city.”

Obviously the Israelites thought they were above taking advice from anyone including the man of God in their lives.  How are you about accepting advice?  I intentionally have a woman of God in my life that I choose to hear what she has to say about any given situation because no matter where we are in life spiritually or otherwise if we are above taking advice from other godly people we are setting ourselves up for failure and a lot of pain learning things the hard way.

We have the right to hear from God ourselves and that should always be our first answer to any problem.  We need to be sure that any advice we are given lines up with scripture as well!  If you have someone in your life leading you down a path that you know doesn’t line up with the Word of God then you know you are receiving poor advice.

Pray about any and all decisions you need to make and ask God to show you His plan and to bring godly people into your life to help you know His will for your direction in life.  I know some godly leaders that sometimes feel as though input from others is not a good idea because they feel as though they are above all of that, that is a dangerous position to be in.  I also know some young adults that still hate to have the advice of anyone on life and as a result they end up learning through tough life experiences.

Samuel tried to explain to the Israelites that God had a better plan for their lives but they were set on having the life of the people around them and as a result they paid dearly for that decision for generations to come.

Open your heart and mind to what God has for you and for His will for your life that He has planned.  Don’t close your mind to advice in fact I would encourage you to take these steps especially for any major decisions in your life:

1. Pray and seek God through His Word
2. Seek the advice of godly people around you
3. Pray again and ask God for His discernment to know what advice is from Him
4. Pray and ask God to not allow you to make a mistake in your decision

If you will open yourself up to that level God will be sure to show you beyond a shadow of a doubt what you need to do.  Don’t allow others to run you over with their ideas but don’t become so “spiritual” that you don’t feel you need others input and above all else Pray and Seek Him!

Quote:   “When you clearly understand that success is a process, not an event, you are encouraged to follow the right process o create the success you are capable of having.”  Zig Ziglar