WARNING LABEL (posted by Jessica)

COINCIDENCE!?!

Biblical Counseling was one of my favorite classes and at the same time one of the hardest. It was not hard academically, or intellectually, but it was very challenging personally. The class is very good because you will learn how to minister in non-legal ways to people you encounter, and identify root issues. However as the Professor stated in the opening sentence of the syllabus, it is “designed to challenge you to evaluate your personal life…”

There should be a Warning Label on the material. “Be prepared each week to encounter situations that will test what you have learned.” IT WILL HAPPEN (almost every week in varying degrees)! You may just being saying to yourself, “That was a good reminder …wonder who I might have an opportunity to share this teaching with?” SUDDENLY! God will allow something to happen that relates to the theme and you will feel like you are back at square one.

YOU ARE NOW FORWARNED! If you recognize the situation for what it is – a test – you can see it as an opportunity to grow to a higher level in your relationship with God and others. Later on you may even be able to laugh about the “coincidence.”

These types of circumstances happened to me frequently last year. They were what made the course hard. But don’t allow this news discourage you. The reward is that you will be strengthened and God will open new doors to connect with and help people, because now you have experienced the situations yourself.

Example Week: We learned, “Responsibility is working to have a clear conscience before God and others. Acts 24:16 says, ‘…maintain always a blameless conscience both before God and before men.’” I thought, “oh good, glad I’ve learned about this before. I’ve worked really hard on this, I can breathe and move on to the next thing.” God smiled and said, “Maybe you finished the elementary level, but now the time has come to move on to the high school level.”

Some days afterwards a lady and I had a big disagreement. She was upset with me about something that had happed over which I had no control. I thought she was entirely in the wrong for getting angry with me, and blaming me for the problem. So I stopped talking to her and avoided being around her.

That night God would not let me sleep. I finally said, “Ok, this is a forgiveness issue. I’ll forgive her and stop being upset about what she said.” But that was not all God was asking for, He wanted me to go deeper. God showed me this was a matter of clearing my conscience. He pointed out that in the situation I had had a prideful attitude, which contributed to the disagreement. Yes she was wrong, but my attitude had been wrong too.
Oh Joy…another test :-P

Coincidence? Hardly. Working through the situation was very challenging, probably harder than any law class test. Yet I saw God do so much through it.

When the tests come your way, remember God provides the tools through His power and grace to overcome. And the rewards last forever.