Taking Time to Help and to Heal / Part 1 of 2

All verses taken from the NKJV unless other wise noted.

If you have been saved for any length of time you have most likely spent a part of your time helping someone who is hurting. It is what God had intended for us to do; we are to help one another. For those, who like myself, are Biblical counselors, we spend a part of our lives weekly counseling others through their problems that life had thrown at them. We search the Scriptures for that which will help bring hope, or bring relief from problematic situations which may be as minor as choosing the hard left over the easy right while others we deal mostly with devastating lives that have been train-wrecked (so to speak.) It is the calling of all of God’s people to help one another, “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. (2) Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:1-2) it is also the calling of God for the few who will take the time to dig deeper, to step into the mire with the hurting and help them to break free of the bondage that sin has them in.

God tells us that we are to make ourselves available to others helping them to recover from a fall. As we help those who come to us we must also maintain our closeness with God, family and reality. If we fail to do so we can fall victim to the pressures that we are helping others with and end up in a ditch on the side of the road, not able to help anyone not even our selves. Whether we are a trained counselor or a layman reaching out to help someone, I hope that these thoughts may be of help to you as I attempt to address a problem that I have seen among counselors.

When I speak of counseling, I am referring to the help offered to others which is Christ-centered, comprehensive, and compassionate. It will be Biblically based and rely upon the Holy Spirit to provide the truths needed in regards to the problems people face. We are called to provide solutions to those in need through the hope of the Scriptures. We also seek to empower people and encourage them to exalt and enjoy God and to love others as taught in Matthew 22:35-40. If we do so we help bring them into agreement and communion with Christ.

What frightens most believers is that this involves a certain amount of confrontation of which they strive to shy away from. It takes confrontation but more so it must be done in a spirit of love and it must be Biblical. Biblical confrontation a vital part of every believer’s personal ministry. It involves more than witnessing it also includes counseling which is the giving of hope, comfort and care to those in need. This is evident in Colossians 1:28, where Paul declared: “Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.” I have noticed that fear drives many believers away from helping others and that is more of a fear of the sin of the other. A good example of this thought is found in Jude. “Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. (22) And on some have compassion, making a distinction; (23) but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.” (Jude 1:22-24) In this passage we find that the flesh referred to is basically the sin nature. What Jude is speaking of here primarily is in regards to sexual sins. These sins that spring forth from man’s sin nature. They become manifest in the many inappropriate deeds done in the body. The sin is not transferable but does cause many to shy away from those caught in sexual sins. We often find believer treating those caught up in sexual sins as if they are lepers and avoid them instead of helping them.