Thwarted

Have you ever been in a situation where you gave good counsel – make that excellent counsel, and were ignored?  I have.  The feeling, at least for me is that of confusion, despair, questioning of my abilities and worth.

Ahithophel, Absalom’s chief counselor, faced that very challenge.  He was right.  His counsel was described in 2 Samuel 16:23, “as if one inquired of the word of God.”  He nailed everything.  But when it came to a critical junction in the conflict between Absalom and David, Ahithophel’s counsel was thwarted.  Hushai’s counsel, which was not right in that it was crafted to lead Absalom in a direction to give David an advantage, was accepted over that of Ahithophel.

Now look at 2 Samuel 17:14.  The key thing here and the reality in which we live is that this is not our story.  The second half of the verse is the kicker, “For the Lord had ordained to thwart the good counsel of Ahithophel, in order that the Lord might bring calamity on Absalom.”  Note that the Holy Spirit called Ahithophel’s counsel good.  He was right.  His advice was not followed, because God did not want it followed.  The reason, God had other plans.

When you give good counsel, or share your good opinion, those receiving that good advice may not follow it.  That may be because God has plans to bring calamity on those you are serving.  We need to make sure that our counsel is “good.”  But we have to release the result of the counsel.  If we do not we may follow in the footsteps of Ahithophel, 2 Samuel 17:23, which is not a recommended response to thwarted counsel.