“. . . that you may know. . . what is his immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead. . . [Ephesians 1:18-20].

Introduction

When you think of the concept or power, what comes to mind? Political clout? Highly successful business people? Military strength? We all know individuals, historical and present, whom we would consider as powerful in some manner and on some level. As we read in Scripture, however, God provides us with a different take on the concept of power. I’m not taking a leap to what Francis Schaffer would call the upper story. God’s power is real for us on a daily basis. Yet I wonder if as believers in Christ, we understand what God has made available to us so that we can live the kind of life he desires for us?

God’s Power Toward Us

God’s power is manifested in many ways throughout Scripture. He spoke the universe and everything in it into being by the Power of his Word. We witness his power in the many miracles and signs he performed, both in the Old and New Testaments. We learn in the New Testament that God’s Word – logos – in the beginning is actually Jesus Christ. Christ’s many miracles of healing and raising people from the dead demonstrate God’s power. In Christian circles we hear the phrase the power of God tossed around quite often. I question if we believers truly comprehend the power of God available to our lives. I don’t say this as a criticism of anyone in particular. I feel at times I’m quite distant from understanding the true power of God. Yet the Apostle Paul, in the verses that form the epigraph to this article, affirms the power that God works toward us who believe in Christ as our Savior. The zenith of God’s power is witnessed in his raising Christ from the dead. Paul tells us that the might which God works in our lives is the same might by which he raised Christ from the dead. The whole of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians is a beautiful testimony to the riches that God has lavished upon those of us who believe in Christ.

The Counseling Process

As believers in Christ, we are in communion with God. Moreover, we are members of God’s household, children of God, which provides us with boldness and confidence to approach God as our Father. All the power and might that Paul describes in the verses penned above is available to us. Christian clients bring their concerns, doubts, pain, and losses in life into the counseling room. My message to Christians who seek me out for counseling is that they also bring into the room the power that Paul claims God works toward those who believe. Whatever circumstances clients face, God’s power and might are available to them to work through the difficulties that the world throws at them. Our work together is to labor toward clients’ understanding of how to access that with which God has already blessed them so as to apply it to the challenges they bring to the counseling room.

“In the World but Not of the World”

Just before presenting one of the most powerful and beautiful prayers recorded in Scripture, the High Priestly Prayer (John 17), at the close of John 16 Christ told the apostles that in the world they would have tribulation. He added that they shouldn’t worry because he had overcome the world. An unfortunate mindset that we can fall into as believers is thinking that because of God’s power working toward us, this life should be an easy haul. Although God’s power works within us, the purpose of his power is not to provide us with a cushiony life. In fact, it’s just the opposite. God’s power works in us so as to strengthen us to take on the challenges that being in the world throws at us. As believers in Christ, we are not promised a problem-free life. What we are promised is a power that goes beyond all we can hope for or understand. Like everything else in the Christian life, we must place our faith in God’s promise that such power belongs to us. By God’s power, we take on the struggles, difficulties, and tribulations that life in this world brings upon us. I don’t wish to be silent about the reality that all of this is much easier said than done. Martin Lloyd-Jones, the great Christian writer, has stated that the major reason that believers falter in the face or life’s trials is that they don’t truly comprehend who they are as believers in Christ. I can most definitely attest to that through my own life.

Conclusion

For Christian clients who seek to work with me in counseling, one of the challenges we’ll take on is searching out how to apply God’s power, which is available to us, to not only the concerns you bring to the counseling room, but also to your life as a whole. This does not mean your concerns for which you enter counseling are shoved to the side for a theology lesson. Your struggles in life are front and center in our work together. It does mean that Christian counseling looks to draw on God’s truth as the means to work through the challenges that being in the world brings to our lives. It also means that I, as your counselor, must draw on that same power to do the best work I can for you. If I fail to do that, then I’m failing you as a client.

John V. Jones, Jr., Ph.D., LPC-S/July 14th, 2021

PROFESSIONAL COUNSELING