Walking with the Suffering

One of the amazing promises of the Scriptures is that because our God is “the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort” we are able to “comfort those who are in any affliction” (2 Cor 1:4). But for many when it comes to discipling or counseling we struggle to know what it means to comfort others by walking with them through their sufferings. Many might be prone to take the Bob Newhart approach of “Stop it!” Below is the wise counsel of Broc Buytaert of how to begin to walk the path of suffering with another.

Greetings fellow co-laborers in Christ. I was greatly encouraged by our last meeting and the collaborative input on the case study. We began as we all should by gauging if this is an opportunity for evangelism or if they are a professing believer. Many shared on how to share hope by connecting the counselees ‘s to God’s promises. There was some great insight on visible heart issues and applicable Scripture to connect both Sam and Sara to in a reconciling way. As we prepare to give counsel I wanted to share a few thoughts to keep in mind and also some reminders that hold true.

First, we counsel from the fully sufficient, all authoritative, inerrant Word of the God (2 Tim 3:16-17). Uphold this truth to your counselees and allow them to hear this conviction from you. Next, is a reminder from God’s Word that brings me back to the present and who’s in front of me even when my life is busy, “He that answers a matter before hearing it, it is folly and shame to him” (Prov. 18:13). We should always take time to get to know the person and what has shaped their life thus far, because we don’t want to give foolish counsel from incomplete data. Ask wise questions that draw out the heart. After this acknowledge any suffering that is present in the counselees ‘s life. We live in a sin-cursed imperfect world and suffering is prevalent in all our lives. Share hope to this suffering son or daughter of our King Jesus.

These elements should be covered in a Christlike way before the probing for inordinate desires of the heart (idols) takes place. Then when we speak the truth in love we are confronting them as ambassadors, using God’s Word to lead them to repentance. As ministers of reconciliation our desire should be to see these dear brothers and sisters walking in the freedom found in God’s mechanism of change through confession and repentance. May this be modeled and lived out daily in our own lives as seek Him.

~ Broc Buytaert ~