How to Harm a Heavy Heart: Loving Sufferers Begins with Listening

I still struggle with what to say to my friends who are suffering. I wish I had the perfect words, the most applicable verses, the most effective comfort. I want to choose my words carefully because platitudes and “count your blessings” attitudes can make an open wound even deeper. People aren’t usually looking for advice or cheering up — they first want someone to weep with them. Proverbs 25:20 aptly describes how I’ve felt. “Whoever sings songs to a heavy heart is like one who takes

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

New Article Posted: Seven Things You Should Do in Your AMS

Given how advanced and thorough the modern association management software (AMS) system has become, there are many opportunities for your organization to leverage it. Here are seven ways I believe every association should be using their AMS. Click here to read the rest of the article . Of course, if you’re already on my  announcements list , you would have received notice of this new article right in your email box. Not signed up yet?  Click here to sign up . Go to the article
Read more

10 Common Mistakes Biblical Counselors Sometimes Make, Part 8

Image
A Word from Bob: You’re reading Part 8 of a 10-part blog series on 10 Common Mistakes Biblical Counselors Sometimes Make . Mistake #1: We Elevate Data Collection Above Soul Connection . Mistake #2: We Share God’s Eternal Story Before We Listen Well and Wisely to Our Friend’s Earthly Story . Mistake #3: We Talk at Counselees Rather Than Exploring Scriptures with Counselees . Mistake #4: We Practice Half-Biblical Counseling If We Address Sin but Neglect Suffering . Mistake #5: We Fail to Follow the Trinity’s Model of Comforting Care . Mistake #6: We Tend to View People One-Dimensionally . Mistake #7: We Devalue Emotions Rather Than Seeing Emotions as God’s Idea . Mistake #8: We Minimize the Complexity of the Soul-Body Interconnection Because we are soul physicians and soul care-givers, our tendency is to focus on matters of the soul. Most biblical counselors are not trained in the medical field, so we wisely avoid offering medical guidance. Yet, that appropr...
Read more