A Word from Bob: Today is Part 2 of a two-part blog mini-series on biblical marriage counseling. Part 1 focused on Having Hope as a Marriage Counselor. Part 2 focuses on Offering Hope to Hurting Couples. I’ve developed these two posts from Chapter 5 of my new book, Gospel-Centered Marriage Counseling: An Equipping Guide for Pastors and Counselors.
Trusting God to Do Abundantly More Than We Can Imagine
Armed with hope in God, as counselors (see Part 1) we can now offer hope to hurting couples. Resurrection-focused marital counseling never denies suffering and sin. Just the opposite. Hope-based counselors keep their eyes wide open to suffering and sin while looking with spiritual eyes to the God who sustains and heals couples in their marital suffering and reconciles and guides couples to overcome their marital sinning.
Though we empathize with hurting couples, we do not join with them in their shrunken perspective. All too often couples wait so long to seek help that by the time couples enter counseling their eyes are wide shut. They present to us shrunken marital narratives:
Concerning Self: “I don’t have the resources, even in Christ, to deal with these problems.”
To continue...read the full-length post originally published on this site.
