The Ministry of Counseling ". . . His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor . . .” (Isaiah 9:6, NKJV). There is no other wonderful counselor. Each of us, however, may be called upon to counsel others. It is a serious matter to speak into a person’s life, whether she is my child, my neighbor or the one who more formally comes to me for wisdom. I must be a person of truth who speaks the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15, NKJV). The Lord admonishes us to "lean not on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5, NKJV). He also says, "Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge?” (Job 38:2, NIV). I have been guilty on both counts, but I must be faithful that "whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak” (John 12:49, NKJV). As counselors, we must "let the word of Christ dwell in [us] richly in all wisdom” (Colossians 3:16, NKJV). We let the Truth (Jesus, God’s Word) do a deep work of dispelling the lies within us so we may be people of Truth. For God desires "truth in the inner parts” (Psalm 51:6, NIV). Francis Frangipane said: "Holiness precedes power” (Holiness, Truth and the Presence of God). That holiness is of the heart. But "the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked” (Jeremiah 17:9, NKJV). Even a Christian’s heart can harbor lies from the enemy. If I will help people with more than human wisdom—or accomplish in anything more than my ability can produce—I need the Word of God first to do a deep, ongoing sanctifying work in my heart. Then God can work through me in power to change lives. CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING: • Ask God to raise up an army of Godly counselors in your city. "In the multitude of counselors there is safety” (Proverbs 11:14, NKJV). • Ask God to reveal your heart to you—little by little, as you’re above to bear it—and to continue His sanctifying work in you so you can minister the Truth more effectively. • Pray for the Christian counselors in your city. • Volunteer as a counselor at a Crisis Pregnancy Center, Battered Women’s Shelter, AIDS/HIV Center. • Start a Women's Care group at your church. • Start a Women's substance abuse recovery group at your church. • Take a counseling course at a college or university. • Take a Christian counselor to lunch. Talk about counseling by Sonjia Lee Hunt, M.Ed., M.Div., D.Min. If you are interested in the Ministry of Counseling, contact us for further information at nationalallianceowim@yahoo.com
