Counselling is a process whereby a trained person (counsellor) helps the client to identify his / her own problem situation and come up with his / her own possible solution (Gross J. 2014). Biblical counsellors minister to the counselee to help them to trust in God’s Word alone, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to bring about inner change in an individual’s life that pleases God. A counsellor that is a Christian isn’t necessarily a Christian counsellor. A Biblical counsellor trusts that God’s Word is sufficient, as 2 Peter 1:3 states, “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness.”Or as 2 Timothy 3:16 tells us that “ All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. Isaiah 9:6. ”For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Biblical counselling has never been published as broadly as it is today, nor is it more critical and sadly misunderstood.
To some, the idea of biblical counselling concerns itself with melding the Bible together with psychology and other popular forms of secular technique. Biblical counselling, by definition, focuses on the two words that define it “Biblical” and “counselling”. By Biblical, we mean taking the Bible as the reliable, sufficient, and trustworthy Word of God. By counselling, we mean walking alongside one another. Biblical counselling is concerned with taking the truth of Scripture and applying it to the lives of the people of God by walking alongside them with the Word of God. Counselling needs: In a world perpetuated by crime, natural disasters, global diseases and drugs, and family challenges, death is becoming a commonplace occurrence even for children. The result of this situation is that increasingly more people, and especially children, have become the victims of crime and abuse and are in dire need of help and counselling. We acknowledge this problem and indicate that there are many people in the congregations that have been hurt and who need help, but find it almost impossible to admit their concerns. This is mostly due to the absence of someone prepared to listen and care.
Furthermore, their personal beliefs or disbelief make them feel guilty and they become afraid of others judging their beliefs. We are living in a world where things are getting worse, emotional and psychological problems are increasing and we can no longer afford to pretend that these problems do not exist (Cooper & Dryden, 2016). Therefore, members are encouraged to seek counselling at the right time to avoid the situation getting out of hand. Conclusion The Biblical counsellor endeavours to teach the counselee what God says about the issues in their life. Then the counsellor helps the person see the need for change and what steps to take based on Scriptural truths and principles. Biblical Counseling is ultimately pointing people to the all-wise, loving, God that created us and sent His Son to save all who will believe in Him. John 3:16“For God so loved the world that He sent His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.”
By: Rev. James Ogola