My own, recent bout with suffering has had direct implications upon my calling to counsel.  I believe that God is using my experience to allow me to better empathize with counselees.  John Piper has written an excellent article entitled, “Counseling with Suffering People.”  It begins like this:

“I begin with five assumptions. Without them, what I have to say about counseling and suffering will not stand.

1. Counseling is conversational exultation in the manifold mercies of God.

2. Mutual counseling is a normative event in the conversations and relationships of the body of Christ.

3. The aim of true counseling is the glory of God through Jesus Christ.

4. God is most glorified in our lives when we are most satisfied in Him.

5. Suffering is a universal human experience, designed by God for His glory, but endangering every Christian’s faith.”

The entire article is definitely worth a read.  You can find it by clicking on the link above, or by reading the Winter 2003 edition of the Journal of Biblical Counseling.

The article reminds me of something that I’ve heard from faculty members at CCEF on many occasions: “We want to offer counselees more than a formula/system…we offer them a relationship with a person: Jesus Christ.”