Friendship Counseling: Jesus' Model for Speaking Life-Words to Hurting People

BACK: What Can I Say? When a friend?s in pain, what do you say? Do you stall and sputter, like a foot just landed in your mouth? Most of us grope for the right words, feeling unequipped for the task. But we don?t need to respond that way. The words of a friend??your words??can inspire hope and healing. Friendship Counseling provides strugglers with meaningful, life-changing assistance. Modeled after Christ?s interaction with suffering people, Friendship Counseling will help you offer others: ?Permission to express doubts, anger, and questions ?Hopeful "life words" that inspire ongoing healing ?Ways to build deeper character and inner strength ?Inspiration to draw closer to God, despite the pain ?Encouragement to change personally and relationally "People in pain need a spiritual guide who knows them, someone who knows how to come alongside and offer hope and direction," explains Huggins. "They need a guide who relates to them the way Jesus does." Using friendship counseling, that "someone" can be you. FRONT FLAP: When friends hurt, you want to help. But it?s hard to know what to say, especially when you?ve never trudged in their shoes. Trying to help others, do you ever respond in these ways? ?Quoting Bible verses about suffering ?Explaining the reasons for their struggle ?Trying to discover what they did to cause the pain ?Talking about your troubles instead of listening ?Fixing the problem so they won?t suffer anymore According to Kevin Huggins, a seasoned counselor, these responses may stem from good intentions, but they don?t help the hurting find the resources to grow and serve God through their struggles. Instead, people in pain need "life words"??words that sensitively point strugglers toward building character and drawing closer to God, despite the agony. They offer the safety and compassion that lead to true change rather than to the masking of feelings. If you want to inspire positive change, offer words that heal instead of hurt. Give people the gift of friendship counseling.