Daily Encounter: A Week-day Devotional by a staff of ACTS International.

Thursday, July 24, 2014

King Solomon wrote, "Listen to wise advice; follow it closely, for it will do you good, and you can pass it on to others: Trust in the Lord."¹

"My wife is leaving me," one man said to me, "what can I do?" My gut response (which I kept to myself) was, "Why didn't you come to me five years sooner?"

I tried to assure this man that if he and his wife both genuinely wanted to save their marriage, there were no guarantees, but with wise counsel, personal honesty, commitment, hard work and God's help, they could.

One way to keep a marriage healthy is to see and treat problem symptoms when they first appear. If these symptoms are the fruit of a deeper root, which they often are, they won't go away of themselves. The longer we leave symptoms untreated the more tenacious and embedded they become.

If there are things in your marriage or in other areas of your life that bother you, it is wise to seek competent guidance from a qualified pastor or counselor right away. Don't put it off any longer. Make that appointment you know you need to make—today.

As today's Scripture says: "Listen to wise counsel" and "trust in the Lord!"

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, please give me the courage to admit my problems, the courage to seek wise counsel, and the faith, help, courage, and determination I need to overcome them. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus's name, amen."

NOTE: For some counseling resources go to:  http://www.actsweb.org/counseling_resources.php.

1. Proverbs 22:17-19 (TLB).

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