Have you ever wondered if there is more to life than the present grind you face every day, or if there is something different you could be doing that would be more fulfilling and impactful? If so, read on. This article may provide the answers and offer some reasons you might want to consider enlisting the help of a Christian life coach.
The purposes of a person’s heart are deep waters, but one who has insight draws them out. – Proverbs 20:5, NIV
Secular life coach versus Christian life coach
The goal of a life coach is to come alongside you and help you unlock what’s inside you, improve your effectiveness, maximize your performance, and achieve your fullest personal and professional potential, enabling you to get from where you are to where you want to be.
To achieve this objective, both secular life coaches and Christian life coaches address areas such as goal setting, personal growth, overcoming obstacles, and developing strategies to overcome challenges preventing you from achieving your desired outcomes. A Christian life coach, however, also incorporates biblical principles and prayer into the process.
Key differences
The two key differences between secular life coaching and Christian life coaching are, one, secular coaching encourages you to focus on your strengths and what you believe the right thing to do is, whereas Christian coaching is based on the belief that success comes from God rather than chance or your own resourcefulness and is contingent on aligning your goals with Biblical principles.
The Christian life coach will therefore encourage you to develop a closer relationship with God, seek His will, and follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
The other major difference lies in how they view challenges. Whereas both secular and Christian life coaches view challenges as obstacles, a Christian life coach also views them as opportunities for spiritual growth and reliance on God.
Principles of Christian life coaching
Christian life coaching is based on the following biblical truths: God is sovereign and omniscient; He desires to help, guide, encourage, and empower His children; and true fulfillment is only possible when you live your life according to the principles He has set forth in His Word. As such, a Christian life coach will help you see yourself as God does and address any erroneous beliefs you have that may be holding you back from achieving your purpose.
As you learn to challenge distorted thoughts you believe to be true and replace them with truths from God’s Word you will be able to move beyond the hurdles that are keeping you stuck and see things from a fresh perspective that opens your eyes to new choices and more fruitful goals and objectives.
The process and its benefits
A Christian life coach is not a counselor or a mentor, but rather someone who has a personal relationship with the Lord, in addition to professional life coaching training and experience.
His or her focus is on your present status and on where you want to be. They will not tell you what to do or impose their opinions on you, but rather, serve as a one-on-one guide, change agent, and accountability partner, who supports you in seeking and finding your own answers along the way.
Using probing questions, a Christian life coach will focus on helping you recognize your blind spots, uncover and address what is keeping you from accomplishing your goals, gain clarity, and create a roadmap based on where God is leading you and His purpose for your life.
To enable you to do this, they will encourage you to develop a personal relationship with God through prayer, worship, and the study of His Word, look to Him for guidance, and rely on the promptings of the Holy Spirit and your Bible for direction rather than on human expertise.
A Christian life coach in Redding, California will also guide you toward fulfillment and contentment in all areas of your life by helping you recognize God’s purpose even in mundane activities, striving to achieve balance in your life, and realizing that it consists of much more than just your accomplishments.
If you are interested in pursuing Christian life coaching or learning more about it, please don’t hesitate to give us a call at Redding Christian Counseling in California.
References:
Eric Scalise. “What is Christian Life Coaching?” International Christian Coaching Institute. iccicoaching.com/about/what-is-christian-life-coachng/.
Photo:
“Rocks in the Water”, Courtesy of Qunio Al, Unsplash.com, CC0 License