Counseling Through Your Bible Handbook (77 page)

(M
ARK
4:19).

— The Lord is your life (Colossians 3:4).

— The Lord is your security (Romans 8:38-39).

— The Lord is your provider (Philippians 4:19).

— The Lord is your protector.

“Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand”

(I
SAIAH
41:10).

— “I
can’t
stand to be rejected!”

— “I
should
meet all their expectations.”

— “I
must
not fail.”

— “I
have to
have excellent health.”

“How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me?”

(P
SALM
13:2).

— Initiate new relationships, even at the risk of being hurt.

— Have confidence that the Lord is directing your life, even if circumstances don’t work out the way you had hoped.

“I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please”

(I
SAIAH
46:10).

— Let your life be an example of growing gracefully.

“Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus”

(P
HILIPPIANS
1:6).

— “Lord, I want to be accepted, but if I’m not, I won’t be robbed of my joy. You accept me unconditionally.”

— “Lord, rather than worry about the welfare of my family, I’ll trust them to Your sovereign care.”

— “Lord, instead of becoming anxious about my job, I choose to trust You with my future.”

— “Lord, I want to have excellent health, but if I don’t, I am willing to learn contentment and refuse to worry.”

“Jesus told his disciples…they should always pray and not give up”

(L
UKE
18:1).

Read and memorize God’s promises for…

— contentment (Philippians 4:11-13)

— hope (Jeremiah 29:11)

— strength (Isaiah 41:10)

— confidence (2 Timothy 1:7)

“Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires”

(2 P
ETER
1:4).

Thank the Lord for…

— His comforting presence in the midst of your pain (Psalm 34:18).

— what He will teach you through your trials (James 1:2-4).

— His compassion you now have toward others in similar trials (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).

— His sovereignty over yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

“He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous”

(M
ATTHEW
5:45).

— If you don’t get enough sleep, small problems become insurmountable.

— If you don’t eat healthy foods, you can feel fatigued and frazzled.

— If you don’t make time to exercise, you can feel down and depressed.

— If you don’t know where to start, get a thorough medical checkup.

“In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat—for he grants sleep to those he loves”

(P
SALM
127:2).

— Listen to uplifting praise music.

— Meditate on the words of the songs.

— Sing songs about God’s promise to provide what you need.

— The moment worry begins to surface, counteract it with a song of God’s faithfulness.

“The L
ORD
is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song”

(P
SALM
28:7).

— Focus on living in the present, not in the past or future (James 4:13-15).

— Emulate the godly examples of people whom you know (Proverbs 13:20).

— Ask God to direct you in performing at least one unexpected act of kindness (Matthew 7:12).

— Believe God’s promises. You have the peace of God surrounding you and the God of peace within you.

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the L
ORD
, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit”

(J
EREMIAH
17:7-8).

When worries sprout, weed them out. Don’t fret over the future—God is already there.

—JH

Philippians 4:6-7

Matthew 13:22

Luke 12:22-24

1 Peter 5:7

Psalm 139:23

Jeremiah 17:7-8

Matthew 7:9-11

Matthew 6:34

Philippians 4:11-12

Psalm 37:7-8

For additional guidance on this topic, see also
Alcohol and Drug Abuse, Anger, Codependency, Critical Spirit, Depression, Domestic Violence, Fear, Financial Freedom, Hope, Illness, Marriage, Overeating, Rejection, Self-worth, Stress Management, Suicide Prevention, Verbal and Emotional Abuse, Victimization
.

1.
See American Heritage, Electronic Dictionary (New York: Haughton Mifflin, 1992).

2.
Robert S. McGee,
The Search for Significance
, 2nd ed. (Houston, TX: Rapha, 1990), 27-30.

1.
Material prepared by Abortion Recovery Ministry (ARM) of Hope for the Heart.

2.
Teri K. Reisser and Paul Reisser,
Help for the PostAbortion Woman (
Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1989), 26.

3.
Reisser and Reisser,
Help for the PostAbortion Woman
, 39-40.

1.
See Kay Marshall Strom,
Helping Women in Crisis: A Handbook for People Helpers
(Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1986), 90-91.

2.
J. Allan Peterson,
The Myth of the Greener Grass
(Wheaton, IL: Tyndale, 1983), 75.

3.
See Strom,
Helping Women in Crisis
, 93-96.

4.
See Strom,
Helping Women in Crisis
, 93-96.

5.
Strom,
Helping Women in Crisis
, 90-91.

6.
Peterson,
The Myth of the Greener Grass
, 145.

1.
For this section see Jeff VanVonderen,
Good News for the Chemically Dependent and Those Who Love Them
, rev. and updated ed. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1991), 21-22.

2.
Elizabeth J. Taylor, ed.,
Dorland’s Illustrated Medical Dictionary
, 27th ed. (Philadelphia, PA: W.B. Saunders, 1988), 848.

3.
For this section see Ronald Rogers and Chandler Scott McMillin,
Under Your Own Power: A Guide to Recovery for Nonbelievers…and the Ones Who Love Them
(New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1992), 140-43.

4.
See
American Heritage Electronic Dictionary
,
S.V.
“Disease” (Houghton Mifflin, 1992).

5.
For this section see Robert S. McGee, Pat Springle, and Susan Joiner,
Rapha’s Twelve-Step Program for Overcoming Chemical Dependency: With Support Materials from The Search for Significance
, 2d ed. (Houston, TX: Rapha, 1990); Stephen Van Cleave, Walter Byrd, and Kathy Revell,
Counseling for Substance Abuse and Addiction
(Nashville: W Publishing Group, 1988), 103-10.

6.
For this section see Van Cleave, Byrd, and Revell,
Counseling for Substance Abuse and Addiction
, 116-17.

7.
For this section see Van Cleave, Byrd, and Revell,
Counseling for Substance Abuse and Addiction
, 116-17.

1.
Ray Burwick,
The Menace Within: Hurt or Anger?
(Birmingham, AL: Ray Burwick, 1985), 18; Gary D. Chapman,
The Other Side of Love: Handling Anger in a Godly Way
(Chicago: Moody, 1999), 17-18.

2.
Gary Jackson Oliver and H. Norman Wright,
When Anger Hits Home: Taking Care of Your Anger Without Taking It Out on Your Family
(Chicago: Moody, 1992), 84.

3.
H. Norman Wright,
Anger
(Waco, TX: Word, 1980), audiocassette.

4.
For the three God-given inner needs, see Lawrence J. Crabb, Jr.,
Understanding People: Deep Longings for Relationship
(Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1987), 15-16; Robert S. McGee,
The Search for Significance
, 2d edition (Nashville: W Publishing Group, 1990).

5.
Oliver and Wright,
When Anger Hits Home
, 97.

6.
Wright,
Anger
.

7.
McGee,
The Search for Significance
, 27; Crabb,
Understanding People
, 15-16.

8.
Wright,
Anger
.

9.
McGee,
The Search for Significance
, 27; Crabb,
Understanding People
, 15-16.

10.
Chapman,
The Other Side of Love
, 21; Russell Kelfer,
Tough Choices: Secrets to Bringing Self Under Control from the Book of Proverbs
(San Antonio, TX: Into His Likeness, 1991), 59-73.

11.
Kelfer,
Tough Choices
, 65-73; Oliver and Wright,
When Anger Hits Home
, 97.