Description
604: Suffering, Sovereignty, and God’s Glory
David Mitchell, M.S.W.
Department of Veterans Affairs
6401 Shallowford Rd.
Chattanooga, TN 37421
Summary
The universal experience of mild to profound and unfulfilled, but desired, conditions (suffering) remains the dominant reason counseling is sought and God’s character and sovereignty are questioned worldwide. A robust, biblically-based, faith-building, God-glorifying understanding of the causes and purposes for suffering, as well as solutions for coping with it, are needed by counselor and counselee alike. This presentation, via lecture and paper, will explore the Scriptures to help unpack and discern key factors impacting suffering, including the roles and purposes of God, His enforced judgment (curse), Satan and mankind, and both male and female. Manifest psychological principles will be combined with these factors to help achieve Spirit-enabled contentment and joy, even amid evil and suffering.
Learning Objectives
Participants will:
• Evaluate factors impacting a counselee’s experience of suffering for use in creating a treatment plan for licensed mental health professionals to reduce such suffering
• Describe Bible passages that illustrate God’s purposes in suffering to those expressing interest
• Outline elements of this workshop to present to others seeking such input in a way they will rate as helpful
