International Helping

Dr. Lawyer

Do you do ever counseling via, let say Skype or something like that program?

Good Christian lady 42 years, married to drug edict, has two children (girl 13 and son 6 y.o.), annoying thoughts, irrational fears, panic attacks, insomnia. Became very psychotic: doubt her faith. If you can help to do counseling through translator (me)?

Blessings, 

Robert

Hi Robert,

I have done counseling via phone or Skype, but even in English, it is difficult. Trying to use translation on top of it all would be really difficult.

On the other hand, I could coach you on how to do it. Then you could do it yourself. It isn’t difficult, you just need to think about it differently.

Here’s how I think about these things. Suppose you were invited to preach to a church that was undergoing severe persecution. How would you encourage the saints’ souls and point them to Christ for comfort? With that in mind, talk with your church lady and encourage her and point her to Christ for comfort. Tell her how to get that same comfort when you’re not around. Give her careful homework, something she can do every day to help her keep her mind and heart focused on God’s presence and love for her in her life.

On the practical side, if she needs to run away from her husband for safety’s sake, as pastor help her find a way to get away. If there is nothing you can do for her in terms of her leaving her husband (it might not be Biblical to leave yet), you might find people in the church (women and couples) who can surround her with love and attention so that her burden is shared and carried by some others. This might look like people calling her and giving her encouragement to keep serving God with her husband and children. It might look like folks coming by and babysitting her kids so she can take a break and go shopping or have a quiet time alone with the Lord. It might look like inviting her and the children (even her husband) over to their houses for lunch or dinner. It might be someone going shopping for her. You can let your elders do some brainstorming about how to help her.

You might also consider how you might coordinate efforts to work with her husband. He might be a lapsed Christian who needs that kind of help. He might be a non-Christian and needs to meet Jesus. Inviting him to dinner with the family, even if you never say anything about God, might be a good way to come alongside him and help him in a very difficult situation.

The main thing is to help her learn to trust Christ for whatever situation she is in. Just like every Christian does, all the time. As I said before, as preparation to talk with her, you should do some serious study of how to live through suffering and persecution. I know you’ve done some of that, but maybe you haven’t thought of situations like she’s fitting into that Biblical category.

You should also keep in mind that you need to go both fast and slow. She needs to get practical help and hear the Gospel applied in her situation quickly. Then she’ll need to hear the same things, said in different ways until her situation changes or she learns to live in her suffering in a glorious, joyful and victorious way. So, don’t be surprised that you find yourself saying the same things over and over. She needs to hear them. Think of it as food, not information. She needs to eat, even if it is the same food (cooked in different ways), over and over again. She needs to walk with God, sit in his lap, receive his kindnesses to her and believe that this is all true.

And you get to be the one who helps her get there. Great!