How to Counsel God’s Way.

By Bob Hoekstra

In Psalm 119:24, we begin to see the place of God’s word in counseling as He designed it: “Your testimonies also are my delight and my counselors.” The word of the Lord is the basic means He uses to get His counsel into lives. The Lord is the counselor. It makes perfect sense biblically that He would counsel us through His own word. God wants us to delight in His word. Then, as we give eager attention to it, He imparts His counsel to us.

Another insightful passage to consider is Psalm 19:7-11. In this series of declarations, the character and ability of God’s word are linked together. If we meditate on these truths, we will see many reasons why we must be committed to the scriptures alone in our counseling. Also, our confidence in God’s word will be greatly strengthened.

Able to Restore Lives

“The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.” This first declaration in verse seven reveals the perfection that characterizes the scriptures. They are “perfect,” complete, and flawless. No necessary thing is missing from them. No mistakes are included in them. Consequently, the word of God is able to convert the soul. It can restore our lives, renewing, reviving, and rebuilding them. The word of the Lord is able to put lives back together in the way God intended them to be. So many people are searching for a way to have their lives restored. God’s perfect word has that unique ability.

Able to Give Wisdom

“The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.” In addition to being perfect, the word of God is “sure.” It has a divine certainty and infallibility about it. This is why it is able to make the simple wise. Note; however, who qualifies to receive wisdom from God’s word. Humble, modest, unpretentious people are the ones who gain the wisdom of God from the scriptures.

Those who are satisfied with their own wisdom cannot find true wisdom, even if they give periodic attention to the bible. God’s wisdom is given through His word to those who admit that they need it. Actually, great numbers of those who are seeking counseling are in desperate need of this wisdom that God alone can provide.

Able to Impart Inner Joy

“The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart.” In verse eight, God’s word is further described as being “right.” It is the absolutely correct way to think and live. So, it rejoices the heart. It produces a joy deep down inside by revealing to us the only valid way to face every aspect of life here on earth, while also preparing us for heaven with the Lord. Being committed to the word and walking in it rejoices the heart.

Many people have little or no joy in their hearts. Sometimes, such a joyless condition exists because they have no interest or knowledge of the right way. They are trying to find what they think will work for them, instead of seeking after what God has for them. There is great joy in the right ways of the Lord. If our answers for life are found in God’s word, we can find this joy. We can direct others to this joy if we let our counsel come from the scriptures alone.

Able to Bring Enlightenment

“The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.” Purity is another quality of the word of God, as described in verse eight. There are no impurities, no admixtures, and no additives in the Bible. It is free from anything that would diminish and damage life as God intended it to be lived. As we minister the scriptures to those in need, the pure word of the Lord is offered to them or nurturing in them untainted spiritual life. Thereby, the light of God’s pure word can shine out from inside, enlightening their eyes.

Able to Provide Enduring Impact

“The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever.” Verse nine implies that the scriptures produce fear or godly respect toward the Lord. The fear of the Lord is clean. There is no corrupting influence in it. Nothing is there to destroy or dissipate lives. This work of the word of God is clean, and it endures forever.

This enduring quality of God’s word brings to mind 1 Peter 1:24-25: “All flesh is as grass and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers and its flower falls away, but the word of the Lord endures forever.” The “glorious theories” that man produces are very similar to grass, which may seem impressive for a moment, but soon fades away. What we give people from God’s word can have an eternal impact on their lives.

Able to Disclose Reality

All of God’s pronouncements in His word are true: “The judgments of the Lord are true.” They are accurate. There are no fables or myths in the word of the Lord. It is absolute reality. Christians inadvertently overlook this fact at times, even when we are departing from our church services.

Someone will comment on it being time to “return to the real world.” Seldom do we stop to consider that this is stating it backward. The world that we are preparing to return to is a place of futility and fantasy and vain imaginations. It is filled with proud and lofty speculations lifted up against the ways of God. That supposed “real world” will someday be gone forever.

Actually, those who have gathered in the name of Jesus Christ are the ones living in the real world: the kingdom of God. It is a kingdom founded upon truth and substance, not lies and empty wishes. This authentic “real world” is revealed in the scriptures. The word of God is true and righteous altogether, correct in every aspect.

Able to Enrich and Satisfy

In verse 10, the word of the Lord is shown to be more desirable than great riches: “More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold.” Many a person seeking counseling needs to hear this truth. Too many people are motivated merely by the pursuit of earthly treasures. Not only are those the wrong treasures to chase after, but they are also a major cause of the spiritual poverty that plagues multitudes of lives.

Also, verse 10 adds that the word of the Lord is designed to be more satisfying to the spirit than even honey is to the taste: “Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.” The emptiness that torments the masses of humanity can be replaced by the deep spiritual satisfaction that the Lord brings through His word.

Able to Warn and Reward

Verse 11 states that God’s word warns everyone who follows Him: “Moreover by them, Your servant is warned.” Every servant of God is given warnings from the scriptures. All of us need to receive warnings from the Lord. The dangers of the world, the flesh, and the devil pose a constant threat.

In addition to giving warning to all who will listen, God’s word brings blessing to all who will obey it: “In keeping them there is a great reward.” As important as it is to hear the word of the Lord, there is another vital factor involved: “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only” (James 1:22). The heart’s desire must be to respond to what God has said. Then, as we respond in humility and faith and obedience, God’s word imparts His wonderful realities into our lives.

Able to Liberate

In John 8:31-32, we can see another great reason why we should rely wholly upon the word of God in our counseling, disciplining, and personal ministry: “Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, ‘If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

Those who are truly functioning as genuine disciples of Jesus Christ are those who live in the word of God. Abiding in the word is one essential aspect of living as a disciple. Some people say they are disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, yet the Bible has almost no place in their lives. That is not real discipleship. Those who follow Jesus live in His word. They hang on to everything He has to say through His word. They read the word and are eager to hear it taught. They have personal times of Bible study and take part in group studies whenever possible. They are looking to Jesus and listening intently to Him. They are really His disciples.

Real disciples get into God’s word habitually to find light, hope, strength, guidance, priorities, and more. Then, by living in His word, they get to know the truth of His word. They are thereby increasingly set free by that truth. There is liberating power in the truth of the word of God.

Certainly, liberating power is what so many people desperately need. In the world, everyone is in bondage, even though they may not know it. In the church, too many are in bondage, even though they often deny it. Thus, a significant portion of counseling ministry involves people who need to be set free from all kinds of bondage.

This bondage is referred to by many terms. Some might call it bad habits. Others might call it addictions. Whatever the terminology, they are things from which we need to be set free.

Sometimes, it is confused thinking. Sometimes, it is erroneous thinking. It may be compromised values or improper relationships. There are so many things from which God desires to liberate us.

Pictured By Lazurus

Lazurus was raised from the dead by the spoken word of the Lord: “Lazarus, come forth!” (John 11:43). Then, Jesus instructed those who were already among the living to assist Lazarus: “Free him from the burial wrappings and let him go” (verse 44. Amplified). Lazarus was now alive, but he was greatly hampered by the grave clothes that were wrapped around him.

Every Christian comes out of the spiritual grave of sin and death and blindness with numerous layers of dead wrappings. These wrappings are comprised of wrong thoughts, attitudes, and activities developed in the days before Jesus brought us to new birth. One of our profound ministries to one another is to share the liberating truth of God’s word so that we can be set free from the grave clothes that bind our thinking, our relating, and our behaving. Knowing reality from God’s perspective is finding the ultimate reality. This brings divine liberation from the delusions we had known before following Christ.

Conclusion

The basic means God uses in counseling His way is the word of God. This is a foundational and irreplaceable fact. This truth is perfectly linked with the anchor biblical truth that the Lord Himself is our Wonderful Counselor. He counsels us through His very own words. So, when we seek counsel, may we look to the word of God alone. When others seek counsel through us, may we point them to the word of God alone? This is how the Lord will bring to people the life-giving, life-changing, life-liberating, life-sustaining truth that is universally needed.

(This article is an excerpt from the book “How to Counsel God’s Way By Bob Hoekstra.”)