"Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward being . . ." (Psalms 51:6a).

Not everyone who comes to a counselor with a problem wants a solution. There is a payoff in having the problem and the counselee simply desires confirmation that the problem is unsolvable. A person like this is a victim and desires to retain their victim status. Many are the clients who come with a problem, and there is always a misfortune which prevents them from doing anything about it. "The car broke down so I couldn't make it to the job interview" kind of thing, or "I've sent out ten applications, but no one answers."

I have had a number of clients who seem to have a never ending run of bad luck which prevents them from accomplishment. They see themselves as victims of life's unlucky lottery. A person like this cannot be helped until they see the truth. The truth is that they do not want to accept responsibility nor do they want to take any risks. These kind of people see money as a solution to their problem, but one of the great truths of life is, MONEY WILL NOT SOLVE A NONMONEY PROBLEM!!!!

"therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart" (Psalms 51:6b). The real problem behind most of our external problems is spiritual. We do not trust God, we do not want to obey God, and we do not want to accept responsibility, we would rather be victims. Until a person is brought face to face with this, they cannot be helped.

There was one in the Bible who was an exception to this, Job. Now that would be a tough counseling job. But the Job's are rare. Almost all of our problems have their roots in a spiritual problem.

Grace&Peace;
Tom