Andrew has spent many years working as a consultant psychiatrist in Belfast alongside part-time work providing biblical counselling. He is an elder at his church in Portadown, Northern Ireland. He tutors on the BCUK Certificate Course in Belfast. In collaboration with others, Andrew is responsible for taking the lead in developing the Certificate Course and other advanced skills training.
When Jesus spoke of worry in His sermons on mount and plain (Matthew 6 and Luke 12), he addressed it in terms of what we are ‘seeking’ (e.g. Matt 6:25-34). Anxiety was defined less in terms of how we feel but more in terms of what we seek (v33). What am I going after, what am I wanting, what is my goal?
When fear fuels our distraction, faith beholds the one who says, 'I am Lord, and I am with you.' When anger fuels derailed imagination, faith beholds the one who says, 'I am judge, and will do what is right.' When escape lures our attention away, faith beholds the one who says, 'I am your place of safety and help.'
‘Lord, we feel so unworthy in your presence...’. We have all prayed these words or certainly heard them expressed in heartfelt ways. Unworthiness can hit us like a bolt of lightning when convicted of a sin. Or sometimes it settles like an unwelcome cloud over our lives, a shadow of inferiority that not only taints relationships but controls choices we make.
The Bible teaches us that real change is a matter of heart change. What we love or desire or fear has to be reorientated. The transformation from ‘bringing forth evil’ to ‘bringing forth good’ is not a matter of the right tools: it's a matter of the right treasure.
