COUNSEL OF THE LORD - Louis Gervais

COUNSEL OF THE LORD

Hello and greetings in the Name of the Son of Him Whose Counsel Stands Forever, Jesus Christ! “The LORD nullifies the counsel of the nations; He frustrates the plans of the peoples. The counsel of the LORD stands forever, The plans of His heart from generation to generation.” –Psalm 33:10-11 “Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or being His counsellor hath taught Him? With whom took He counsel, and who instructed Him, and taught Him in the path of judgment, and taught Him knowledge, and shewed to Him the way of understanding?” –Isaiah 40:13-14 KJV God’s counsel is perfect and His advice, flawless. We routinely face situations in which we do not know which course of action to take. God knows, and He cares. He wants to direct our steps to His paths and lead us with His Word and His Holy Spirit throughout our lives. We must submit our will to His and surrender our lives entirely; otherwise our usefulness will be limited. Isaiah 28:29 describes the LORD as being “wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working.” Will you seek His advice—in every aspect of life—and take heed unto His wise counsel? “The LORD of hosts is His name; great in counsel and mighty in deed, whose eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of men, giving to everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds;” –Jeremiah 32:18b-19 “Because they had rebelled against the words of God And spurned the counsel of the Most High.

Therefore He humbled their heart with labor; They stumbled and there was none to help. Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble; He saved them out of their distresses.” –Psalm 107:11-13 This week we are preparing for a vacation Bible school. But I would appreciate your prayers for something else. For the past 10 weeks I’ve been involved in an intense prayer battle. I would greatly appreciate your prayers that the will of God will be done and His counsel made known and followed. Thank you! “Thou shalt guide me with Thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.” –Psalm 73:24 KJV Mr. Kussman, Mr. Van Niekerk and my grandmother do not yet know the Lord as their Counselor. The persecuted family is very thankful for all your prayers on their behalf. Over the past week they experienced no known threats to their personal safety. However, some members of the family did have a narrow escape from serious car accident. The Lord preserved my life three times in a row this week: Daniël and I drove from Cape Town to Bloemfontein where we would have stayed the night, but we pressed through to Pretoria. The next morning we found out that there had been violent strikes on that same N1 highway which we may have met with had we left early the next morning from Bloemfontein. They threw rocks on the road, burned tires, set cars on fire and the stuff they usually do when they riot in South Africa.

Then again: the next day I was planning on leaving Pretoria at 6 A.M., but my plans changed. At 9 A.M. someone warned Daniël that I shouldn’t leave yet, because there was a riot taking place on the highway which I would have taken. I probably would have been caught up in it unknowingly. I found out later that there had been a battle between police and protesters on that road. Also, news reached us that there was a huge riot in the center of Pretoria and buildings and buses were set on fire and the violence was spreading. Even the alternative route which I would have taken to my friend’s house was also closed due to protests and riots, I heard on the radio. A friend of mine was driving that same day near Pretoria and all of a sudden large stones were hurled down on the highway from an overhead bridge. He was traveling at 75 m.p.h., the highway speed limit in South Africa. Thankfully, he was able to swerve out and just barely miss the big rocks. Otherwise his car would have been disabled and he and his daughter would have been assaulted. This is the type of thing that happens in South Africa. By God’s grace I was able to escape Pretoria that evening at dusk. “I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will counsel thee with Mine eye upon thee.” –Psalm 32:8 “Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure:” –Isaiah 46:9-10 KJV –Louis Gervais