Usually, when people seek counseling, it’s because things are not going well.
Circumstances in life, relationships, work, health, or finances are leading to sadness, anxiety, fear, worry, anger, or depression. These emotions lead to other complicating problems such as substance abuse, difficulty sleeping, finances, and strife at home or work.
In short, people seek counseling when they are hurting. There are an endless number of approaches to make the pain go away. A few of the more common models to are:
- Find someone else to blame (Freud)
- Learn to adapt to the circumstances (Skinner)
- Find a better place in life (Rogers)
- Learn to love yourself (Maslow)
- Medications
- Therapies (EMDR, Behavior Modification, Theophostic counseling, etc.)
In actuality these approaches may offer some relief from the presenting pain, but does that make them successful?
Created in God’s image
If the Biblical account of creation is true, then man is created in the image of God, and God has emotions. The Bible teaches that there are times when God is happy, sad, grieved, angry, and even that He laughs. (What makes God laugh is interesting and it may not be what you would expect.)
In creating man in His image, God has purposes for our emotions. One of these purposes is to indicate when something is wrong. Negative emotions such as worry, fear, sadness, depression, or anger serve to alert us that something isn’t right.
There may be a reasonable explanation for which there is no cause for alarm, or they may lead us to a more serious problem that needs to be addressed.
Address the problem, not the symptom
Smoke alarms do exactly the same thing. If a smoke alarm goes off because a piece of bread is stuck in the toaster, there may be no real problem.
But if the alarm goes off in the middle of the night, we may want to determine why and not just remove the batteries and go back to bed.
As with a smoke alarm, it’s a really good idea to determine the cause of the pain, not just to make it stop. We need to address the deeper issue, not just how it’s making us feel.
Sometimes when we are hurting we may not even know how to describe it, let alone know the cause.
- Is it worry or fear?
- Sadness or depression?
- Anger or stress?
Accurately defining the problem is the first step.
Second is determining the cause or causes.
Third is to determine the best solution.
God gives all we need
The Bible tells us that God has given us everything that we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3.) His Word, in the power of His Holy Spirit will equip us to cope with any circumstance that life may bring.
James 1:2-3 even tells us that one of the purposes for trials is that they may help us grow and change spiritually.
King David is the only person in Scripture referred to as a man after God’s own heart. He wrote most of the 150 biblical Psalms. In his Psalms, David connects with God in every conceivable circumstance of life.
- In happy times, David celebrates and rejoices with God.
- In sad times, he weeps before Him.
- In desperate times, he cries out for help.
- In depression, David asks why he is that way and walks us through his reasoning.
- In loneliness, he sought God’s presence.
- In bewilderment, he sought His guidance.
Whatever the circumstance, David knew His hope was in his God.
Seeking answers in the Bible
Once we define our pain, there is no better place to look for hope and help than the Bible.
- He created us in His image (Genesis 1:27)
- He has a plan for us to prosper and not harm us (Jeremiah 29:11)
- He offers to keep our hearts in His perfect peace (Isaiah 26:3-4)
- He invites us to come to Him (Psalm 50:15; Matthew 11:28)
- If He is for us who can be against us (Romans 8:31)
- Nothing can separate us from His love (Romans 8:39)
- He will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5b-6)
By choosing to approach our problems biblically, we are sure to find a biblical solution that helps us grow spiritually, and draw closer to the Lord in our personal relationship with Him.
We will experience first-hand His steadfast presence, His transcendent joy, and His perfect peace that passes all understanding. That is true success.