Japan: What An Opportunity

http://www.redcross.org/portal/site/en/menuitem.1a019a978f421296e81ec89e43181aa0/?vgnextoid=7c521079115ce210VgnVCM10000089f0870aRCRD
No one is ever prepared for what happened in Japan a few weeks ago. However, when hard times come it is a great time for those who can to show the love of Christ to hurting people. The story is about the Red Cross and their work over in Japan during this tragedy. In this article it talked about how this people have been prepared how to deal with earthquakes their whole lives, but they were not prepared to handle something of this proportion.

As counselors we are the people that are able to go and show God's love during these circumstances. We must be willing to go to the people that are hurting and point them to Christ while helping them through the hard times. As Larry Crabb shows in his book Connecting, people need others and share deep community to be able to tackle the things in life that come their way. During times like these, people do not need a diagnosis they need a cure, and that cure is only found through the love of Christ. As Christian counselors we have the responsibility to give them that love. All the knowledge in all the world without love is useless. We must act out that love through the way we live, if the knowledge we gain is to change anyone's life. This article showed me the importance of living out my faith, and I pray it reminds you as well.

Japan and Hopelessness

Every day the numbers are rising with how many people were killed due to the tsunami in Japan. At first, it was thought to be a couple of hundred. This article on deaths in Japan report that there have now been nearly 10,000 people confirmed dead and over 16,000 still missing. There's still nuclear crisis.
What does all of this have to do with counseling? I honestly do not know for sure. Yet, I do know that there are times when I do not have the answers. This situation just reminds me how little I am in the big scheme of things. Even out of a desire to help others, at times counseling techniques will not do; no response will fix the situation; and hope may seem impossible to attain.
My heart breaks. I want to do something, and yet I feel so helpless. So many questions come to mind. Why was that them and not us? Why am I still living my comfortable life when their lives have been turned upside down? What is God's purpose in this? How would I be responding right now if I was in the midst of disaster? In discussing this situation with my roommate the other night, I was just made aware again of how God uses prayer. So many times prayer is the last response we want to take. Yet, it should be the first and the most fervent response that we have. Prayer leads to solutions. I want to pray and intercede to a sovereign and loving God for hurting people and a broken nation. Instead of saying, "I can't do anything," I can confidently go before the throne and say, "but my God can do everything."

"Amid the silent corpses, a baby cried out..."

“Amid the silent corpses, a baby cried out—and Japan met its tiniest miracle.” What an encouraging headline in the midst of heartbreak and destruction. When we, as Christians, see this, we can only praise God for His wonderful providence. But the question must be asked, where was God in the midst of the earthquakes, tsunami, and nuclear fallout in Japan?

It is easy to think this question through, as I have so many times, from the comfort of my own room. And yes, I do believe I have a general answer for this, that God can be found in the midst of chaos, and that He can be glorified by lives that are saved. We understand that God does not create evil, but that He can use it for His glory. We believe that God is in control. But what about the people who lay dying beneath the rubble? What do they believe?

I was very convicted over the events that occurred in Japan. I know that I am in no way responsible for it, but we all have been called by God to witness to those who are lost. So whether it is to the people in Japan, or whether it is to our next door neighbor (who we probably don’t even know), we all have a responsibility to reach out with the love of Christ. Ultimately, every individual will face the judgment of Christ, bearing their own responsibility as to whether they placed their faith in Christ. But far be it for us to sit idly by when we have the true source of healing living inside of us. That is the heart of Christ, and it should be our heart in counseling.