Faith Filled Family Magazine August 2016 | Page 90

The Light at the
End of the Tunnel

What do you do when you don’t know how to
get out of a situation
By Randy Williams
“Pastor, I know you’re really
busy, but can you spare five
minutes? I really I need to get
your thoughts.”
“I’m happy to Kyle; tell me what’s
been going on.”
He began recounting some of
the issues he was facing in his
life. No one thing really stood
out, just a lot of small issues
strung together intertwined into
one big mess.
Often, we face situations and
simply don’t know what to do.
We have choices to make and
don’t know which is the right
one. When that happens, it’s
easy to lose focus, concentrate
only on the problems, ignoring
the rest of our life.
The first step to solving situations like this, is finding someone who will listen to you without
judgment. Proverbs 11:14 tell
us, “Where there is no counsel, the people fall; But in the
multitude of counselors there is
safety.” (NKJV) This might be a
pastor, but it doesn’t have to be.
We have professionalized the
word counselor in our generation, but a counselor can be all

kinds of people. A close friend,
a partner, a family member, or
a person who has been in the
Christian faith a long time who
is a good listener may serve as
an excellent counselor, but whoever you choose to listen to definitely needs to be a person who
shares the same convictions as
you, and with whom you feel
safe and comfortable enough to
share your heart.
The second step, involves figuring out what’s going on, what’s
wrong, or what to do. Often,
when we start talking we answer
our own questions and figure out
what we need to do.
When I was in seminary, I knew
God had called me to chaplaincy
ministry, so I took many courses
in the counseling field. I learned
many theories, techniques, and
so forth. To my surprise, during
my first counseling session I said
nothing other than “hello,” and
“goodbye.” A lady called who
had been attacked at the school
where she was a teacher. She
had all sorts of long lasting medical and psychological issues,
and a string of therapists. She
said she wanted some spiritual
insight.