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Daily Devotional

Seeking Advice Is a Sign of Strength

May 17, 2022 - 12:00 am

This Devotional's Hebrew Word


(Medical Clinic)

Surely you need guidance to wage war,
    and victory is won through many advisers.
—Proverbs 24:6

We continue with devotional thoughts from the Book of Proverbs every Friday. One of the 11 books in the Torah known as the Ketuvim, Hebrew for “writings,” Proverbs is part of the “wisdom tradition,” which also includes Job and Ecclesiastes.

Three years ago, when my father, Fellowship Founder Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, suddenly passed away and I was cast into the leadership role of IFCJ Canada, I have to tell you, I was scared. I didn’t think I was ready to lead such a large and important organization. I felt that I would have to prove myself by making big decisions that I wasn’t sure I was ready to tackle.

Have you ever been put in a position of needing to make big decisions, afraid to mess up?

When I found myself in this position, I soon realized that I wasn’t alone. I didn’t need to carry all the big decisions on my shoulders all by myself. I had great people around me. The leadership team and the staff at IFCJ Canada carried with them a wealth of experience and wisdom. I took a deep breath and reminded myself that nobody expects me to do this alone, that involving others in the big decisions was not a sign of weakness. In fact, seeking advice is a sign of strength.

Seeking Advice Is a Sign of Strength

Proverbs teaches us this same lesson. We read, “Surely you need guidance to wage war, and victory is won through many advisers.” This verse uses the example of war because there is hardly a more urgent situation than war. Decisions during war cannot be put off for another time. The stakes are as high as can be.

What Proverbs is telling us is that in those critical moments in life when consequential decisions are placed in front of us, we ought not be overwhelmed by the responsibility. Even though the task has been given to us, we don’t need to feel inadequate if we don’t shoulder the burden alone.

We may think that we are shirking our responsibility by asking those close to us for guidance. But the opposite is true. When we involve others in important decisions, we are stronger and more likely to be victorious.

We all have struggles and big decisions to make. We ought not shoulder those burdens alone. Not only is it okay, but it’s good biblical wisdom to seek the counsel and advice of others!

Your turn: Do you have a big decision ahead of you? A battle you are fighting? Seek the counsel of friends or people with experience. You will be stronger for it.

     

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