A delightful counsellor - Psalm 119.24

Your decrees are my delight and my counsellors. 119.24

There has never been a better time to be a counsellor.  In some parts of the UK one adult in every six is on anti-depressants.  Is this because life is more stressful and there is more anxiety due to societal issues?  Is this because we are simply more willing to give out tablets to fix our problems?  Whatever the cause, the number of people in need of seeing a counsellor or psychiatrist is sky high.

It is foolish to treat depression, anxiety, or other mental distress as not being a real health problem.  You cannot just exercise your way out of depression or decide not to be anxious.  We would never tell someone with a broken arm that they just needed ‘to change their perspective.’  We would never tell someone with cancer they ‘need to make more of an effort.’  Depression and anxiety have real biological causes and there are no simple answers.  

Depression and the like are not just problems ‘out there’ in the world, they are Christian problems.  Many great saints have suffered and wrestled with great bouts of depression - for example Charles Spurgeon the ‘Prince of Preachers’ was plagued throughout his life by horrendous depression.  It is tragic that many Christians feel they have to hide their depression or mental disorders.  The church is a hospital for sick, imperfect, struggling sinners and not a museum for perfected saints.  

One big difference for Christians who wrestle with troubles in life - whether grief over a death, anxiety over work, fear over safety, or a more general depression - is that we have a perfect counsellor.  When we need hope, when we need to be reminded of the truth, when we need to recognise what is reality and what is not, we can come to the perfect word of God.  The Bible lays before us the promises of God, the real truth of our identity in Christ Jesus, the reality of our sins truly forgiven and of our past washed clean.  When we face suffering of any kind it reminds us that we have an eternal Kingdom coming soon where there is no pain or death or sorrow.  When we cannot understand why things keep happening the Bible reminds us that God is 100% sovereign and all things work together for the good of those who believe.  

I don’t believe Christians should never see psychiatrists or counsellors, and I certainly don’t think they should not take medication if it is needed; but I do believe, as the Psalmist does, that the Bible should be our first and last resource in all things.  When we make the Bible and its truths our life coach, our counsellor, we will truly delight in it.

How to act in the face of hate, fear, and opposition - Psalm 119.23, 161

Though princes sit against me, Your servant will think about Your statutes… Princes have persecuted me without cause, but my heart fears only Your word.   119.23, 161

Taking a stand on Biblical truth has always been unpopular with the powers of the world around us.  At times things have been worse than others.  In England we have a rich heritage of persecuting the righteous who believed in the words and statues of God.  From the killing of St. Alban to the persecution of John Wycliffe (and his later exhumation, trial, and burning of bones to ash).  The foundation of what we know today as the Church of England is written in the blood of hundreds martyrs including Thomas Cranmer, Nicholas Ridley, Hugh Latimer and John Hooper.  Across the world today Christians are the single most persecuted and martyred group of people.  Here in England we may not face being shot or crucified for saying that Jesus is the Son of God and the Bible tells us God’s eternal truths - but we certainly face opposition.

The gospel, as Paul tells us, is by its very nature offensive.  People don’t like it when you try to tell them that they are sinners facing the wrath of a Holy God and they need to believe in Jesus and repent.  People go crazy when you tell them that what the Bible says happened actually did happen in history.  People take you to court and you lose your job when you stand up and act with integrity on issues of morality.  Whether it is abortion, divorce, euthanasia, or issues of sexuality, the clear teaching of the church is unpopular.  Whether it is teaching about  wealth and greed or the error of Eastern Spirituality you can expect opposition.

This should not surprise or phase us!  

Jesus told His disciples “you will be hated by everyone because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be delivered” (Matthew 10.22).   

Read that sentence again.  

"You will be hated by everyone"

Let that really sink in.

"You will 

be hated 

by everyone"

Jesus didn’t tell his followers they ‘might’ get sent to court or be judged by others but rather told them what to do ‘when’ it inevitably happens: “whenever they bring you before synagogues and rulers and authorities, don't worry about how you should defend yourselves or what you should say. ” (Luke 12.11).   

If you are not facing opposition or questioning or some form of persecution for being a Christian then the chances are you are doing Christianity wrong!

Whenever we face opposition, and it is often powerful and emotional opposition, we must do two things:  

1) First of all we must think about what God has told us because only His words are truth for all time and His promises form the rock on which we stand.  

2) Secondly, we should remember to fear only God and not what other humans may say or do.  Sticks and stones may break your bones and words may hurt you but what does that matter when eternal life and a resurrection body are yours!?  Jesus told His followers “Don’t fear those who are able to kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is about to destroy both soul and body in Hell” (Matthew 10.28).  

The Bible repeatedly tells us that "the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom" - let us be wise by accepting what God tells us and not fearing what others may think or say or do.

Living with eyes wide open - Psalm 119.18

Open my eyes so that I may see wonderful things in Your law.  119.18

As much as we should read the Bible, study the Bible, and meditate upon it we must understand that mere ‘head knowledge’ or ‘academic knowledge’ of the Bible will not bring eternal life, joy, peace, and happiness.  After all didn’t Satan know what God said?  Has not Richard Dawkins read the Bible?  At Oxford I met many people, both students and lecturers, who knew far more of the Bible than I do but who knew nothing of the one true God or of a personal relationship with Jesus.  

This is not something new.  The Pharisees were the academics of their day - they would often memorise the entire Old Testament.  They would spend their lives carefully picking apart every single sentence, phrase, and word of the Bible to better understand it.  Yet when God actually came down to earth and fulfilled literally hundreds of prophecies right before their eyes they failed to recognise that Jesus was the Messiah, that Jesus was God, and ultimately in the greatest of ironies they had crucified the one they were searching for.

In John chapter 5 Jesus says to them “You pore over the Scriptures because you think you have eternal life in them, yet they testify about Me” (John 5.39).  If we don’t see Jesus as the heart of the Scriptures we don’t see anything of eternal consequence.  The problem is that to see Jesus in every chapter, to see the truth of God in a life changing way, we need outside intervention.  We are born blind to these truths, it's like there is a deep and thick mist before our eyes which we cannot see through no matter how much we try.  Saint Paul would talk in 2 Corinthians 3 about how unless we turn to the Lord there is a veil over our faces which prevents us from seeing how wonderful the Bible is.

When Jesus asked His disciples who they thought He was Peter eventually said “you are the Messiah, the Son of the living God!” (Matthew 16.16).  What is most remarkable is the reaction of Jesus to this profession of faith:  “Simon son of Jonah, you are blessed because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father in Heaven” (Matthew 16.17).  It was not human wisdom or human intellect which made Peter understand who Jesus truly was. It was God Himself who by the Holy Spirit opened His eyes to the see the wonderful things of Jesus, who parted the mist, who lifted the veil.  Let each of us pray that God would open our eyes to the wonderful things of His Law - that when we read the Bible we see Jesus on every page and find hope, comfort, and joy in doing so.