The Power of Wise Counsel • Deshen Daily

And one told David, saying, Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom. And David said, O Lord, I pray thee, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness (2 Samuel 15:31 KJV)

Counsel is, in essence, advice on what to do to have an expected outcome in any situation. It leverages someone else’s wisdom to change one’s circumstances, often with impressive results. Although good, godly counsel produces godly results, evil counsel can damage our lives.

David’s response to a life crisis illustrates his respect for counsel. After hearing that his son Absalom had conspired to overthrow his kingdom, David and his men ran out of Jerusalem. However, despite all the events working against him, a single report troubled David above everything else—he heard that Ahitophel was amongst the conspirators with David.

Who was Ahitophel? Why was David so concerned about one man with Absalom rather than many military warriors with Absalom. Well, the next chapter tells us why.

“And the counsel of Ahithophel, which he counselled in those days, was as if a man had inquired at the oracle of God: so was all the counsel of Ahithophel both with David and with Absalom” (2 Samuel 16:23 KJV)

When Ahithophel counseled you on what to do, it was as though you heard from God! This man’s wisdom was not natural: he was anointed by God, but he turned out to be against David.

Think of having Ahithophel counsel you about your spiritual life, ministry, finances, relationships, family, personal struggle, etc. What if I told you we have something better than Ahithophel’s counsel? The Bible says Jesus is the “wonderful Counsellor”! And when He left, He sent another Counsellor, the Holy Spirit, to be with us forever. The Holy Spirit counsels us through different avenues, including the Scripture, other believers, and His direct voice to us.

Leverage divine wisdom through the power of counsel.

What makes counsel so powerful?

The Scripture tells us only a fool is very confident that his way is correct( Prov. 12:15) and also that we should not be wise in our own eyes but fear the Lord and listen to Him( Prov. 3:5). Seek divine counsel. Better still, listen to godly counsel from the Word or the godly people around you.

Ask the Father to help you seek and heed godly counsel in everything you do.