ADVISOR/COUNSELOR TO HOSEA AND PETER

What place does conventional wisdom have in the counseling/pastoral office?   I find that, as Christians we are too dependent on conventional wisdom when working with DID/SRA clients.  What does love, relationship and unity (closeness, harmony} between ourselves and the Lord Jesus Christ have to offer that is different than conventional wisdom?  Most clients we work with have experienced very intolerable, horrific situations that I cannot even fathom.  Yet, here they are in my office asking for help.  The question that faces the client as well as the counselor is can God "repay them for the years the locusts have eaten?."  Can God "bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes and oil of gladness instead of mourning and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair?"  Can He take a life that has been devastated and redeem and restore?

Conventional wisdom (Freud, Jung, Rodgers, Bradshaw, Hubbard, Bass/Davis) would say YES through SELF-empowerment you can rise above your past, no matter what has happened to you, no you do not have to forgive but rather, nurture the damaged SELF; I AM woman/man, hear me roar.  Conventional wisdom states that I CAN DO anything if I only believe in myself.  How would conventional wisdom have advised Hosea, Jonah, or Moses when he had to face the Pharaoh?  What would conventional wisdom have advised Peter or his wife when Peter was leaving for an indefinite period of time to follow the new Rabbi Jesus.  Can’t you just imagine the conversation around the table during their last supper together?  Peter’s wife: "You’re going where?  When are you returning?  You’re no longer fishing for fish but for men - what does that mean and how much does it pay?  What about me?  I think we need to go to our own Rabbi for a counseling session before you make this decision!"  How would have the local Rabbi advised Mr. and Mrs. Peter?  "Peter you are being insensitive to your wife’s needs.  Peter you have been under too much stress, take some time off of fishing and rest and THEN make a decision.  You need to take anti-psychotic herbal medications.  You must really hate your mother to treat your wife like this.  Peter, what are you thinking?"  Conventional wisdom would say that Peter was not mentally stable which was obvious by his poor decision-making abilities.  This may sound very amusing, but how would I respond if Hosea walked into my office asking for wise advise/counsel and encouragement about a decision he felt God was leading him to make.  "Go, take yourself an adulterous wife and children of unfaithfulness, because the land is guilty of the vilest adultery in departing from the Lord.  So he married Gomer..." (Hosea 1:2-3).  Conventional wisdom would have me to discourage him from making such a foolish decision.  No sane man of God would knowingly marry an unfaithful woman - he must not be hearing from God correctly.   This type of wisdom arrogantly states that I, being a part of the wise society, know just the right thing to do to make a bad situation good; somehow I can say just the right thing to redeem one’s pain.  Conventional wisdom elevates me into God’s position of Redeemer.  Conventional wisdom does not call upon the Truth of God’s Word, nor a relationship with the One who gives "manifold wisdom of God that should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to HIS ETERNAL PURPOSE which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Eph. 3:10-11)  Love, relationship and Unity in Christ give us manifold wisdom of God to understand His eternal purpose.  When we encourage and advise, we must take into consideration God’s eternal purpose which means turning our backs on conventional wisdom.

Conventional wisdom would have told Jesus not to go to the cross, Peter to stay home, Jonah stay away from Ninevah, Moses stay and become Pharaoh because you can help your people more by being a Pharaoh rather than a lowly shepherd - what can a shepherd do to help the people of Israel?  God’s wisdom is anything but conventional.  His solutions have eternal purposes.  I cannot help survivors with conventional answers, but rather, with the power that raised Jesus from the grave, the same power that Jesus used to bring Lazarus back from death.  Conventional wisdom cannot bring life out of death or restore lives that have been "long devastated...devastated for generations" (ISA 61: 4).  Restoration and healing comes from "him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us" (Eph. 3:20).  When we advise or counsel people who are hurting we must be dependent on the love, relationship and unity and wisdom we have with the One who has resurrection power.