Start Here

“Counseling through the Word” Devotional: Restoring Relationships with Love

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Pinterest
Email

“Counseling through the Word” Devotional: Restoring Relationships with Love

Scripture: Galatians 6:1-2 (ESV)

  • Galatians 6:1 – “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.”
  • Galatians 6:2 – “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”

Introduction

Restoring relationships is an essential aspect of living as a follower of Christ. In Galatians 6:1-2, Paul instructs believers on how to help others who have stumbled into sin. The key to this restoration is love, humility, and gentleness. When you approach others with these qualities, you reflect the heart of Christ, who bore our burdens and lovingly restores us.

Devotional Thought

When someone falls into sin, it’s easy to judge or distance yourself from them. But Paul reminds us that as believers, we are called to restore them with gentleness. This means coming alongside them with compassion, not condemnation. It’s about helping them find their way back to God, rather than pushing them further away.

Restoration is not just about correcting someone; it’s about carrying their burdens. In this process, you’re fulfilling the law of Christ—the law of love. Jesus exemplified this when He bore the weight of our sins on the cross. As His followers, we are called to bear one another’s burdens, offering support, prayer, and encouragement.

It’s important to approach this task with humility, recognizing that we are all susceptible to temptation. By keeping watch over ourselves, we avoid falling into the same traps and maintain a spirit of grace as we help others.

Bringing it Home: Applying What We Learned

  • Restore with Love: When helping someone who has stumbled, approach them with gentleness and compassion, remembering that you, too, are in need of grace.
  • Bear Burdens: Look for opportunities to support others in their struggles, carrying their burdens with them as they navigate difficult times.
  • Stay Humble: Keep watch over your own heart and life, remaining humble and vigilant against temptation as you seek to help others.

Prayer

Lord, help me to restore others with the same love and gentleness that You have shown me. Give me the strength to bear the burdens of those around me and the humility to stay close to You in the process. May my actions reflect Your grace and lead others back to You. Amen.

Questions for Reflection

  • Who in your life needs restoration, and how can you approach them with love and gentleness?
  • What burdens can you help carry for others in your community?
  • How can you maintain humility and vigilance in your own life while helping others?

Take the Next Step on Your Journey

Thank you for joining me today. If you found this lesson helpful, I encourage you to explore more resources and support on my website, https://jameslongjr.org/. You can also watch my video on my YouTube channel.

Finally, would you consider joining our Lessons for Life monthly membership or our online group coaching, where you’ll find powerful coaching videos, a supportive community, and step-by-step guidance for lasting transformation?

Remember, true change is possible when you walk in God’s grace and for His glory. Until next time, may you find peace, hope, and joy in Christ alone. Blessings!

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Pinterest
Email

Related

Facebook Twitter Youtube

Get Updates

Gratitude journal

When was the last time someone said thank you to you? When was the last time you said thank you to someone else? So many people today struggle with a lack of thankfulness and ingratitude. This leads to struggles with complaining, criticizing, and comparing. Gratitude and thankfulness provide a powerful remedy for these problems. This gratitude journal helps us to identify what we should be grateful for and what we do as a result of seeing life as a gift.

God's grace prayer journal

Do you struggle with applying the truth that you learn during your study of God’s word? This God’s grace prayer journal will allow you to focus on gratitude and live in contentment in life. The journal pages encourage you to observe what you are learning from the Bible text, evaluate how you have failed to live according to the truths stated, seek forgiveness, and develop godly plans for change.

Giving hope

Do you struggle with the lack of hope? Do you find yourself struggling with doubt and insecurity during times of great challenge? During those times, you need to find your rest and assurance in pondering, personalizing, praying, and practicing what God’s Word says. In the short devotional, spend time meditating and studying each of these passages. Write down whatever comes to mind in the spaces below. And let God speak to you.

Discovering Godly patterns

One of the keys to growing in Christlikeness in our lives is to unearth and discover, and biblically evaluate our thinking patterns, speaking, and acting. This worksheet will help you be honest and specific about areas in your life that are not meeting biblical standards in thinking, speaking, and acting.

Counseling review journal

The God who began a good work in you will continue it through your lifetime and will finish it when we meet him face-to-face. God works for us, and God works in us. He enables us to become more like Christ every single day. This work is progressive and continual in this life. This worksheet helps us review and evaluate gains made during counseling and discipleship, show gratitude to God for what he has done, and develop plans for future growth and change.

Conflict review worksheet

There probably is not a day that goes by that we do not have some level of conflict with others. This worksheet helps us focus on the problem and not the person. It helps us evaluate how we have handled a dispute and how we should deal with it moving forward.

Bible study notes sheet

Do you ever struggle with doing a Bible study or journaling the key ideas from your reading? This Bible Study Note Sheet will encourage you to ponder and meditate on Scripture. Also, God’s Word is meant for you, so this worksheet will help you personalize what you are learning. It will also guide you in learning to pray God’s Word, and finally, it will encourage you to put into practice the principles and promises you find in reading the Word of God.

Anger journal

Anger is a significant issue for so many people. People often stuff or spew their anger, but very few learn to study their anger. This journal assignment will help you to do just that. It will help you understand, evaluate, and respond to your anger in better ways.

4 Steps to rethinking a problem

Do you ever find yourself getting overwhelmed with problems? Do you find yourself struggling with thinking clearly during a challenging situation? This four-step approach to rethinking a problem will help.

4P problem-solving approach worksheet

Problems can seem overwhelming. When we are in the midst of a significant crisis, many of us struggle with defining the problem and implementing helpful solutions. This worksheet helps us to identify three unbiblical and unproductive ways of handling problems. It also encourages us to destroy problems, not people, as we deal with issues in a biblical and God-honoring way.