I met with our leadership team for Eternity last night and it was an awesome time, not because we scheduled events, talked about how things or going, etc (that’s all great stuff too) but it was awesome because we had a passionate discussion about why the Bible MUST BE the source of truth and practice for our church. We talked at length about not believing our feelings, emotions, circumstances, etc but rather looking away from ourselves to Jesus and believing what God has said about Himself, His Son, and us as revealed to us in Scripture.

And so, when I saw this post from John Piper regarding counseling people who are angry, hurt, depressed, confused, “healing”, etc…I simply had to share it. We’re all broken. We’ve all been hurt. We’ve all gone through sufferings that have impacted us deeply. But these words provide phenomenal counseling to those who are stuck in “healing” mode and find it hard to believe what God has to say to us in Scripture:

I know that you don’t feel very helped by what I have said. I think I understand some of what that’s like. I don’t mean to be offering a quick fix, as though your problems or doubts can be turned around that easily. But I have more hope than you do that God’s truth is powerful and will have its good effect in due time. May I share one more thing before you go?
I simply want to make sure you hear the best news in the world. Jesus said he spoke so that we would have peace (John 16:33). And Paul said that faith comes by hearing the word of Christ (Romans 10:17).You don’t feel this right now. But God says peace and faith come from hearing.
In other words, moving from not seeing and feeling the reality of Christ to seeing and feeling the reality of Christ happens through hearing news about Christ. Something happens. At one moment, you are not seeing him as beautiful and satisfying and compelling. Then in the next moment, you are. In the moments leading up to this experience, listening to God’s word seems empty and futile. That doesn’t put me off. If you doubt what I am saying, you are the very person who needs to hear what I am saying

Moving from wounded to healed, broken to fixed, hurting to well DOES NOT HAPPEN by constantly looking to ourselves for the remedy and the cure. We can never look inside enough. We can never introspect enough. We can never make sense of it enough. Mainly because our hearts are deceptive and not worthy of trust. Rather if we are to make the transition from not believing to treasuring, we must hear the news of Jesus and that comes primarily (and almost solely) from looking to the Bible.

If hearing produces faith, the question you have to ask yourself is: Who are you hearing from (Yourself or God)? If you’re hearing too much of yourself, don’t be surprised at the weak faith that will result from it…