I Wish I Had a Counseling Degree

There are times I receive emails from my dear readers that contain questions far too difficult for me to answer. When the questions are beyond my experience or studies I often say “I’m sorry I am not a counselor. You need to seek out a pastor, trusted Godly friend or call Focus on the Family’s 1-800 number (1-800-232-6459). I deeply regret this is beyond my expertise.”

There are moments I feel inept to write on this blog because I am not a counselor – I just don’t know all the answers and I so wish I did!~

Thankfully there is a counsellor all believers have access to who supersedes all counseling degrees – the Holy Spirit! Jesus says in John 14: 16-17 “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever – the Spirit of truth.”

Anne Graham Lotz says:

“Jesus described the Holy Spirit as “Another.” The Greek word actually means “another who is exactly the same.” So although the Holy Spirit is a distinct person, He is exactly the same as Jesus, but without the physical body. He has been described as Jesus without skin. Or, like an FBI agent, He is Jesus undercover.”

Dear hurting Christian sister, you may feel all alone in your trials and difficulties. But you are not. Jesus has sent “another” counselor with the same mind, emotions, intellect and wisdom into our hearts to guide, comfort, direct, and help us manage our way through life.

Have you yielded to this Counselor the Holy Spirit? You must first be in his word, in prayer and in stillness – to sense his clear leading, comfort and guidance.

If you are hurting today – practice the presence of God in your life. Psalm 139:7-10 says:

Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.”
Know that he is always with you. Surrender your will to him. Be still – listen – move forward in peace.

Walk with the King!

If anyone knows of any other organizations with toll free numbers for readers who need a counselor can you please leave it in the comment section. I will use it as a resource for ladies who are hurting. Thank you for your help.

holy experience

12 Comments

  1. Your blog has counceled me more than you can know. I thank God for bringing your blog to my computer! Thank you for the informative and inspirational posts. I look forward to reading more. 🙂

  2. Thank for this post Courtney. My family is going through a very difficult time right now; my sister has kicked her husband out and divorce is a word I've heard too many times in the last 2 weeks. Unfortunately this is dividing my family members.

    Please pray that the Holy Spirit would move in their lives and counsel them. Please pray that any doubts would be taken, replaced with God's love, grace, and mercy.

  3. Amen sister! You are helping more women that you can possibly know, and your advice is always very wise, even if you say 'I don't have the answer', you are directing them to someone that does!

  4. There are so many hurting people in the world and only One who can heal. It is a wise thing you do to direct them to Him and to others who can assist in their healing process. Be blessed!

  5. Hi, Courtney. I was browsing through comments on Rachelle Gardner's blog and yours caught my attention, so I popped over. I've written books on marriage and motherhood, so I get lots of questions too. Many that are way over my head. Thankfully, most people are pretty understanding when I admit I don't know the answer and tell them I'll pray for them. A lot of them just want someone to listen or even just to acknowledge them.

    I'll have to come back and check out more of your stuff!

  6. Courtney-

    I had an abortion at 21. I'm 30 now and went through a Post Abortion Class at my church….which I now lead!!

    Women who are suffering from the pain of choosing abortion need to know that God is a forgiving God and can use ALL things for His glory.

    For any women who is suffering from their choice of abortion, they may have Post Abortion Syndrome.

    http://ramahinternational.org/post-abortion-syndrome.html#

    There are MANY churches and pregnancy centers around the USA that offer Post Abortion support and healing classes. Here is the link to the one that we use. You can let women search for a chapter near them.

    http://saveone.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=29&Itemid=6&chapter=all

    There are MANY other books out there that also offer chapters in Post Abortion Healing, this is just the one we personally use. They should also contact their local pregnancy center (NOT a planned parenthood) to see if they offer a Post Abortion class. Pregnancy centers are faith based crisis centers that give other options and support rather than abortion.

    I hope this information can help women who need to be set free from the hurt and pain.

  7. I took a counseling course from CCEF for personal interest and was SO blessed by the material. I had Ed Welch, Tim Lane, Paul Tripp, and David Powlison as my instructors. It's been such not only with other people, but especially myself. Check out their website…they offer counseling services too: ccef.org

  8. Anonymous – thank you so sincerely much for your comment and excellent links! I will keep those handy!

    And Happy Little Homemaker – thanks for this suggestion – I will check it out. In this season of life it doesn't fit in time wise – but someday it just might :-)! I hope!

    Much Love,
    Courtney

  9. Hi, I found your link over at Holy Experience. I have been reading some of your posts and watching your videos. Thank you for sharing your ideas and testimony with all of us. I do try to my best to be the best I can be, but there are days, I just do not feel like doing anything.

  10. Hi Courtney,

    I think you had wise counsel in this post.

    You asked about other types of counseling that the readers might know of and I just wanted to with one specific kind of counseling organization.

    This is a Christian organization for people with addictions of all kinds. It's called Reformers Unanimous. You can find out more about this organization at http://www.reformu.com. A friend of mine used it and found it very beneficial.

    Blessings,
    Michelle

  11. P31 – thank you so much for this link – I'm going to check it out right now!!!
    Courtney

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