Is God Calling You to be a Christian Counselor?
There is much to consider when pursuing a career or ministry in Christian Counseling. First and foremost, is asking the Lord if this is His plan for your life. One way to confirm that is in the mouth of two or three witnesses. Most counselors have been told all their life they have a gift for helping others, or listening to others. Although, we do not take man’s word over God’s will, we understand that God has placed His plan in our heart since before we were born. Therefore, we can recognize the signs and evidence of that plan working out all through our life. The plan becomes very apparent to us and others as we tune in to what the Holy Spirit has been revealing through the years.
The Holy Spirit will reveal gifts, tendencies, a passion, strengths and weaknesses. This will happen from a very young age. As we get older there are several tests that confirm to us what those gifts are. One of those tests is the APS (Arno Profile System) that we use at In His Image Counseling. It will reveal the strengths, weaknesses and tendencies, as well as bring clarity to the gifts resident in you. There are also spiritual gift tests used in churches and several online that pinpoint the specific gift God has place in you to be used in the Kingdom of God. I would suggest that you do both of these first if you do not have a clear picture of God’s will for you in this area.
Prayer and listening to God is the most important way to confirm His will for you. We often talk alot and do not listen to the Lord. Make sure you are taking 5-15 minutes after prayer or Bible Study to just let the Lord know you are there and ready to be still and listen. If you do not know how to do this refer to the article “Listening to the Lord”. Pray over your passion for a period of time, asking God to guide you and show you what doors are open to you, and confirming that open door with a peace in your spirit. Then step out in faith knowing that God will complete that which He has started in you. That means he will provide the finances, the time, and the mental strength to complete your studies.
Be blessed in all that He has called you to!
To have your personal temperament analysis run, contact us at 813-684-7927, or 817-337-8977.
2 Comments
I have lived a very traumatic life myself. I was abused as a child, served in a war where I escaped death several times, then I was put through 15+ years of intimate partner violence until I finally stopped allowing that abuse to take place too. In the midst of all this, I survived 12 years of an active drug addiction trying to numb the pain I had experienced nearly all my life along with two other near-death experiences, and severely acute symptoms of CPTSD as a result of all the trauma I had experienced over my 39 years of living. This was not all bad though, as I had a chance to be saved and confirmed as a Catholic along the way.
Since I took a step back to allow me to focus on my mental health; I began to pray to God to show me His will for my life, and what He wanted me to do to serve Him and expand His kingdom on Earth. At first, I thought about becoming a teacher because I loved working with children, but given all of the lived experience I have had over the course of my life; I am beginning to think that God may want me to become a faith-based psychologist or counselor so that my pain can become my purpose in guiding others out of their own trauma as they seek to heal themselves as well.
My wife says that I might not be the best psychologist, and I do have a tendency to be impulsive at times when I am making big life choices; so, I am continuing to pay for God to allow me to discern His will for my life in regard to His chosen vocation for the remainder of my life. However, I have to believe that my painful past has a purpose, and there is a reason I have suffered through what I have during the first 39 years of my life; and this vocation would seem to align with that perfectly.
Has anyone else had a similar experience in their life, and if so, how did it ultimately turn out for each of you?
Hi Michael
I apologize. I don’t really tend to do a lot with our Blogs after writing them so I forgot it after I read it. So sorry! Feel free to email us anytime you have a question though. To answer your question, yes so many counselors become counselors because the Lord has taken them through pain in life and they have learned so much and grown that they want to help others do the same. The Word of God tells us, 2 CORINTHIANS 1:3-4 (CSB). God comforts us, coming alongside us, in all our afflictions, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction, through the comfort we ourselves receive from God. Paul refers to God the Father as the “Father of all mercies.” His mercy is that your pain is not wasted. 🙂 I hope this helps!
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