Once I first began biblical counseling over forty years in the past, the widespread follow was to assign books for counselees to learn as homework. Sadly, we regularly would have counselees come again the next week with out having learn a single web page. As our motion grew, varied sequence of mini-books had been revealed on varied counseling matters. We handed these out with nice expectations that they might be learn. Some had been used, however many counselees nonetheless didn’t get by means of them. Lately, we now have give you a brand new strategy. We’re creating counseling playing cards that we will use with our counselees each throughout their periods and for homework.
A number of years in the past, I had a sequence of a number of circumstances wherein I used to be making an attempt to assist males with important anger points. As a way to assist the teachings sink in, I began instructing my counselees to get a three-by-five index card and write down the rules and passages we had mentioned for understanding and coping with their sinful anger. As I did this in case after case, I seen that I used to be protecting very comparable floor with every man. Over time, I recognized 5 key rules and supporting passages for coping with anger. Then, a member of our workers urged that reasonably than having counselees write out the rules and verses on their very own index card, we may take my 5 rules and texts and print them on playing cards we may distribute. He utilized a few of his graphic design abilities, and we discovered that they printed effectively on our workplace shade printer/copier utilizing card inventory.
Right here is the present model of the primary card we created.
Sometimes, we’d go over the cardboard in the course of the session, having the counselee search for every passage whereas making use of it to the actual points about which he was tempted to be offended. We’d typically undergo a previous failure to see how these biblical rules may have helped him to indicate grace as an alternative of judgment. The counselee would then be given the cardboard as a part of his homework to assessment every day and to have prepared for assessment when he’s tempted by anger.
This strategy applies the biblical precept of being fast to hear, sluggish to talk, and sluggish to anger (James 1:19). A few of us as youngsters had been taught to attempt to management our anger by counting to 10 once we felt upset or wronged. This may occasionally assist to a point as a result of delay might help to diffuse anger, even in unbelievers. One may say or do one thing harmful within the preliminary flush of anger, which he wouldn’t say if he waited to reply to provocation (Prov. 25:28). The strategy taken by our card, nonetheless, is significantly better than merely counting to 10 as a result of it reminds the Christian of 5 particular gospel-focused truths (counting to 5) which might put out the fires of anger and doubtlessly deliver forth grace and love. God’s Phrase is uniquely highly effective in softening arduous hearts (Ps. 19:7-10; Heb. 4:12-13).
In his basic ebook, Religious Despair, Physician Martyn Lloyd-Jones coined what has turn out to be a well-known saying derived from his exposition of Psalm 42, wherein the Psalmist alternates lament over his arduous circumstances with phrases of fact and hope. Lloyd-Jones says that the depressed individual should observe the psalmist’s sample as he stops listening to himself and begins speaking to himself. After we are distressed, our minds, left to themselves, are inclined to run towards despair and unbelief. So, we have to reply these lies with biblical fact.
I’ve discovered that this precept applies not solely to those that are depressed but in addition to these whose misery tempts them to be offended or apprehensive. After we take heed to our personal ideas, we spiral additional down into unhappiness, nervousness, and anger. Devil is a liar and a destroyer (John 8:44). The offended individual is tempted to consider Devil’s lies and, in a way, to homicide (Matt. 5:21-22) these whom they consider have wronged them. As an alternative, we should establish Devil’s lies and reply them with the mighty fact of Scripture. That’s what the anger card makes an attempt to do. We should actively fill our minds with God’s life-giving fact (Phil. 4:8-9).
Since creating the anger card, we now have created a number of extra playing cards, together with fear, unhappiness/despair, rejection, keys to strengthening marriage, and distinguishing between true repentance versus worldly sorrow. The playing cards have been translated into a number of languages, together with Spanish, Mandarin, Greek, Indonesian, and Italian. Now we have printed and given away tens of hundreds of playing cards and made them accessible without cost obtain and printing at:
I welcome you to make use of our playing cards. Be at liberty to enhance them and create your individual.
Questions for Reflection
- Why do many counselees have issue in studying books?
- How can counseling playing cards assist those that are reluctant to learn?
- What are another methods we might help those that aren’t readers?
- How can counseling playing cards be used throughout a session?
- How can counseling playing cards be used as homework?
