According to John Piper (2003), there are five main assumptions that can be held before starting the counseling a suffering person. The first is that Suffering is a universal human experience, designed by God for His glory, but endangering every Christian’s faith. Secondly, the aim of true counseling is the glory of God through Jesus Christ. Thirdly, mutual counseling is a normative event in the conversations and relationships of the body of Christ. Fourth, God is most glorified in our lives when we are most satisfied in Him, and fifth, counseling is conversational exultation in the manifold mercies of God.
With these assumptions in mind, one can proceeds to by letting the suffering person share their story and show them empathy. If one has had a similar experience, it can be shared briefly and at higher levels. However, care has to be taken to ensure that one does to deviate from the client focus. Nouwen (1975) stated that suffering makes us become more intimidate with God than before. One would explain to the person the reasons of suffering and why every person on earth suffers at some point. The enduring of suffering brings victory. 1Cor 10:13 describes the faithfulness of God that He knows and is committed to the provision of the needed strength to endure.
I do not belief that counseling removes all the pain. It is practically impossible to remove all the suffering. The main aims of counseling is comforting, consoling, providing hope, and reinstate normalcy in the event that the client had been affected to extreme ends. This makes the person to be able to make sound decisions while copping with the suffering.
References
John Piper (2003), Counseling With Suffering People. The Journal of Biblical Counseling.
Retrieved from http://www.epm.org/resources/2003/Dec/1/counseling-suffering-people/ on 22nd March, 2014.
Nouwen, H. J. M. (1975). Reaching out: The three movements of the spiritual life. New York,
N.Y.: Doubleday, Image Books.
