The Gospel for Disordered Lives by Robert D. Jones & Kristin L. Kellen & Rob Green

Author:Robert D. Jones & Kristin L. Kellen & Rob Green
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Religion/Christian Ministry/Counseling and Recovery
Publisher: B&H Publishing Group
Published: 2021-10-02T00:00:00+00:00

Teach Trust in God’s Sovereignty

The reason for difficult circumstances that lead us to various worries, anxieties, and fears is not always available. The Lord, for his own purposes, does not choose to answer every question we might have regarding the difficult things that come into our lives.10 That is why our counselees must learn to trust in the sovereignty of God. It is theologically wrong and of no practical value to think God is missing from our circumstances. After all, the earth is the Lord’s and everything that is in it (Ps 24:1). The Lord owns everything, and all was designed for his glory (Colossians 1). God tells us believers that everything works for our good (Rom 8:28–29). Counselees might struggle to hear that, though, and we can understand; after all, even we (the writers) have lost unborn children, carried the caskets of toddlers, wondered where a next meal is coming from, lost jobs, and experienced other hardships that seemingly came out of nowhere.

Some counselees question God’s sovereignty, but it’s a truth they need to process. Other counselees don’t like God’s sovereign choices, but every Christ follower must learn to be like Job who asked, “Should we accept only good from God and not adversity?” (Job 2:10). One counseling exercise that can help involves asking the counselee to read about certain events in godly David’s life (like the Goliath incident in 1 Samuel 15–17, the massacre at Nob in 1 Samuel 22, or the conflict with both Nabal and Saul in 1 Samuel 24–26). Then they can evaluate them using these questions: (1) What circumstances did David accept? (2) How did he choose to respond? (3) What circumstances are you struggling to accept? (4) How would accepting those circumstances change your responses?

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