Am I Ready to Pursue Biblical Counseling?
by Hannah Sink
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Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety. (Proverbs 11:14)
Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed. (Proverbs 15:22)
Four Reflection Questions to Consider when Considering Biblical Counseling
It is excellent and wise to consider whether or not biblical counseling is something individuals are prepared to pursue. Often, people recognize that they are at a point in their lives where they need help, but determining the type of help to pursue can be a challenge in itself. As a counselor, I honor each person’s unique concerns and hesitations as they consider seeking counseling care. It is courageous to take steps toward bringing one’s story, burdens, and obstacles to the light. On the one hand, it is simpler to be confident that biblical counseling is beneficial. On the other hand, it is much more complicated to reflect on your readiness to engage in the process of biblical counseling care!
The counseling process is one aspect of how God offers us a means of His mighty grace and remarkable care. However, it is a process worth understanding and reflecting on before getting started. I’ve compiled four reflection questions to consider if you desire begin your counseling journey. It is good to prayerfully and thoughtfully take stock of whether or not biblical counseling is the appropriate vein of care to choose.
Biblical counseling is a unique form of discipleship that offers the potential for profound growth and transformation. It differs from other means of preventative discipleship in the church, such as teaching, mentorship, preaching, and collective group study and growth. In a Truth in Love Podcast episode, Dale Johnson, Executive Director of the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors, described biblical counseling as intensive discipleship that is primarily “reparative” and “restorative” in nature.
When individuals reach a crossroads in life where they face acute issues beyond the scope of general biblical guidance within the church, biblical counseling becomes a suitable approach. Biblical counseling exists to meet the needs for the type of care that calls for specific and enduring biblical solutions to burdensome issues and life-altering pain (Gal. 6:1–2; Romans 15:14; 1 Thess. 5:14; Matt. 11:28–30). In other words, biblical counseling specifically aims at helping overcome acute obstacles in alignment with a person’s particular problems in a particular season of difficulty (Psalm 139:23–24; Jeremiah 17:10; Phil. 2:13).
I hope and pray for God’s power at work in you as you respond and reflect upon these questions, ultimately seeking Him for guidance along the way:
1) Am I looking for biblical guidance along my journey as a disciple of Jesus to honestly address obstacles in my life?
In Scripture, Jesus directs us to count the cost before pursuing a life of discipleship in Him (Luke 14:25–33). Part of “counting the cost” to follow Him involves an understanding that the journey of discipleship entails loosening our grip on the world (lusts of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and pride of life, 1 John 2:16) and strengthening our hold and directional gaze on Christ.
In biblical counseling, we address specific obstacles, naming them honestly at the root of the heart’s desires. The cost of embracing discipleship has a life-breathing return! The cost of a disciple's life is choosing to exchange our fallen reasoning with the mind and will of Christ. We aim to reestablish and re-root our hearts in biblical goals, such as honoring and pleasing the Father in all we are before Him.
It is a path of changing the cry of one’s heart to match the Psalmist’s, “Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.” (Psalm 86:11). The disciple's life is marked by an exchange of worldly passion and pursuits with a growing affection for the person, purposes, and life-breathing path of Christ.
2) Would it be meaningful to me to process my pain, patterns, and difficulties through a biblical perspective that brings eternal comfort and peace?
Sustained suffering and enduring conflict create a dire need for an ongoing eternal perspective. We all need life spoken into the dark corners of our inner person. Over time, suffering takes its toll on us at a soul level. We misinterpret truth or reality, become enslaved by false beliefs, develop inordinate desires, or misunderstand the character of our God.
All these tendencies of the human heart developed through suffering create a need to be reoriented and re-informed by the God of glory. In biblical counseling, we aim to rewrite our stories under the banner of God’s redemptive story, empowering you to live from a fresh perspective and a renewed identity (Isaiah 43:18–19; Ephesians 2:10; Psalm 100:3; John 10:27–28).
3) Do I desire not just relief from my struggles but ever-increasing fullness in Christ?
Fullness in Christ means more of the completeness of His presence and activity within ourselves (Ephesians 4:13–16). It makes sense to seek relief from our struggles. However, when we make that our ultimate goal, we miss the greater goal.
In biblical counseling, we create goals that help us focus on fullness in Christ through our struggles. He becomes the end goal. We aim where we cannot miss because of the sufficiency of Christ in us—the hope of glory (Col. 1:27–29). We exchange lesser goals for greater glory and transformation.
The irony is that when we make Christ Himself central to our counseling goals (pleasing Him, living for His purposes, and trusting His promises), relief is sure but redefined!
Relief becomes:
Learning from Him as we exchange our lofty self-reliance for His humble, gentle spirit (Matt. 11:28–30).
Encountering Him and loving Him
Being remade as a new creation in Him—whether or not He chooses to alter our circumstances or not.
4) Do I want to pursue heart-level transformation, not just symptom management?
Symptoms are not the disease. Symptoms are evidence of the disease! Anxiety, depression, conflict, insecurity, etc., all exist as symptoms pointing to a deeper root issue. It is easier to make ourselves a list of dos and don’ts than to observe, name, and surrender our inner selves to Jesus.
In biblical counseling, we view the practical outworking of faith as a result of inner renewal in Christ. In God’s Kingdom:
Weakness precedes strength
Rest foregoes loving action
Humility births obedience (Matt. 5:2–12)
There is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting our symptoms to go away. There is nothing wrong with desiring provision, safety, and having our needs met. The Bible does not say to eliminate those basic desires, and we will carefully walk with you in working to find solutions. However, Scripture guides us to order our affections under Christ.
We are to “...seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” [emphasis mine] (Matt. 6:33). Our deepest issue is not that we are in want. Our deepest problem is that our wants become disordered and/or inflated when we do not pursue heart-level transformation as our most fundamental need and top priority.
If you would like to pursue transformative counseling through BCA or have additional questions, please reach out today! You can register here or contact us at info@biblicalcounselingaz.org.
Biblical Counseling of Arizona is a 501 C3 non-profit counseling center that relies on the generosity of donors to provide affordable care for those in financial need. If you are interested in asking specific questions about our counseling, or are interested in financially partnering with BCA, please reach out to us at (480) 535-1800, write us at info@biblicalcounselingaz.org, or click here to donate.
