got advice?

Though good advice lies deep within the heart,
    a person with understanding will draw it out. (Proverbs 20:5 NLT)

Advice and counsel from others is essential in almost every sphere of life.  We need to seek it out and pursue others for help.  But have you ever received advice when you weren’t looking for it?  Or been the recipient of great advice given at the wrong time?  It can be really frustrating to have someone offer you their opinions and thoughts when that isn’t really what you are looking for.

Proverbs 20:5 actually conveys a different approach.  Rather than a person with understanding offering their advice and opinions, they draw it out of the other person.  That is to say, they help the person discover the good advice rather than deliver it to them.  It’s the difference between delivering and developing.

Deliverers come in, unload their goods, and leave with their own mission accomplished. Developers come along side, seek to understand, and work to accomplish the mission of others.

Next time you see someone in need of advice, try drawing them out before you decide to dispense.

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