In the world of counseling, I have found that so many of the reasons I end up seeing people comes down to some level of “stuckness”.  Obviously this is my subjective understanding of it and not a clinical diagnosis, but it seems to be a common trend across the myriad of demographics I see.  These issues can look like problems with a spouse, low-self image, depression or hopelessness, and a feeling of unending anxiety.  In the midst of this, counseling is a way for people to admit, I am not happy with the place I am at, and I would like someone to help me to envision a way to not be here.

Recently I have pondered on how this in fact is a spiritual practice, to recognize you are not where you want to be or generally accepting the situation you are in could improve, and going to God in prayer to find a way to improve it.  I am reminded of Jeremiah in the bible, a man known as “the weeping prophet” who was literally cast into a miry pit.  Jeremiah’s startling humanity is perhaps the reason text from the chapter is so often used in teaching, we see in Jeremiah a reflection of ourselves in these moments of “stuckness”, and his prayers and calls are so similar to our own.  At one point in prayerful questioning to God, Jeremiah is answered “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know” (Jeremiah 33:3).  This strikes me, as God illustrates that our own anxiety is in fact a derivative of the fact that we cannot be aware of all the things that God holds.

Our faith therefore fills in the gaps and is able to decrease our anxiety.  I know that personally, this is where faith is the most comforting.  In the moments where I am prostrate before God, praying to know what to do or what will come of a situation, God consistently points to how far I have come through faith.  These thoughts are encouraging to me, and I know that I use this philosophy with my clients.  We cannot know the unsearchable things, yet our faith allows us to not focus on what is unknown but what is made readily available to us by faith.  That is comfort in our times of anxiety and stress, shelter from the storms of life, and unsearchable joy for all in the name of God.

Trevor White

Counseling Center Coordinator and Relational Ministries Intern