Procedures for Answering

Daniel 2:14

Then Daniel answered with counsel and wisdom to Arioch the captain of the king's guard, which was gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon:

Daniel was one of the wisest men because of his procedures for answering. Notice the process Daniel went through to give an answer to the king. Before the answer, he got counseling, and the counseling gave him the wisdom he needed to give the right answer to Arioch. Let’s just say that Daniel flippantly answered off the top of his head. Had Daniel done this, he would not have had the wisdom he needed to save his life and the lives of his friends. You must understand that Daniel’s life was at stake in giving the right answer; therefore, he needed wisdom to give the right answer, which meant he had to get counseling to receive the wisdom he needed to give an answer.

Your life is at stake with every answer you give. One wrong answer can turn a good and productive life into a chaotic life and unproductive life. The answers you give are the decisions you make in life, and those answers will either lead you to a life of God’s blessings or a life of heartache and regret. If we don't want our lives filled with regret, we must learn to follow Daniel’s procedures for answering. Let me share some thoughts about procedures for answering.

First, you must realize the impact of answers to avoid giving the wrong answers. You cannot be flippant with your answers because they will determine your future. Being flippant with answers always leads to bad decisions. If you treated every answer as if you were answering the police in an interrogation, you would be more careful with your answers. Just as it is with police, everything you say or answer will be used against you in the court of life. Therefore, be careful with your answers in life.

Second, you must get counsel to get wisdom. You will not naturally have wisdom. People who have wisdom have learned how to get it. The wisest people are not naturally wise, but they are wise enough to know how to get the right information to make wise decisions. Wise people are wise enough to recognize that they don't know everything; therefore, they seek counsel to obtain the right answers. I would rather be smart enough to know that I am not smart enough to have the answers for everything than to be dumb enough to think I know everything. Obtaining counsel is crucial for gaining wisdom to provide the right answers. So, how do we get wise counsel?

You first get it through God’s Word. God’s Word is the source of all wisdom, and you will never gain God’s wisdom to have the right answers without reading His Word.

Secondly, you get wisdom through the preaching of God’s Word. Every church service you miss is a missed opportunity to gain another piece of God’s wisdom you will need in your life. Many people have gaps of wisdom missing because they miss so much church. Always remember this: wherever wisdom is missing, foolishness and ignorance will fill.

Thirdly, you get wisdom from wise and Scriptural counseling. Never make decisions without first going to your pastor and seeing if he can help you with your decisions. If all he does is give you one nugget of wisdom for your decision, that is another chance to get God’s blessings. Don't be so filled with pride that you avoid your Pastor’s counseling and miss God’s wisdom that He will give to you from it.