Over the last couple of years, I have spent a considerable amount of time with families that have been impacted by special needs. As I have walked this road with them, I have often found that they observe that they are isolated or feel like a burden to those who are not walking this same road. Many times, they comment that there are few biblical resources that are focused and readily available for them. As a result of this, God has been developing within my heart a passion for the need for the church and the biblical counseling movement to spend intentional focus on the matter of special needs ministry.
Encouraging
One of the quickest answers we tend to give to people who are facing any form of difficult situation is to remind them of the fact that God is good. This is a true statement that we can easily support using Scripture.
Philippians 2:13 “for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”
Romans 8:28 “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”
I do not want to minimize the truthfulness of those passages, however, to the person who will have the course of their whole life changed through special needs, it is important that we are not flippant in our use of these passages.
The church should be the most involved and encouraging group of people to those who are impacted by special needs. We must not just encourage these individuals and families to be content but we must be willing to come alongside them to support and encourage them as they walk through life.
“Our human tendency is to focus on the present rather than the future. But God sees the end from the beginning. Our tendency is to expect blessing, health, an absence of suffering now, rather than acknowledging that this life/world is temporary. Believers, however, should possess a more future-oriented perspective, in anticipation of God’s eternal blessing. A future orientation, which recognizes the temporariness of this world, is more appropriate to the Christian life. In anticipation of eternal blessing, the Bible urges contentment rather than happiness which, from a western, materialistic mindset, is often centered of the accumulation of things which bring a temporary feeling of self-satisfaction or is dependent on circumstances.”[1]
Supporting
The church’s approach to special needs ministries will dictate whether we truly believe that God is good regardless of the circumstances surrounding the life that God has blessed us with. Theologically, we believe that God is always good. Practically, do we demonstrate that we believe God is always good by the way that we care for those who have additional needs beyond what we feel equipped to handle?
How hypocritical it must seem to tell someone who is taking care of a dependent who has special needs that God is good no matter what, while not demonstrating that goodness through the effort we place to support those families. It is not enough for the church to provide minimal ministry to those who have challenges such as special needs if we believe that God is good and providing us with children who have special needs.
It is time to put compassion, care, and effort into helping families impacted by special needs. God is good and we can have a huge part in helping display that truth to these families.
[1] David W Anderson, Toward a Theology of Special Education: Integrating Faith and Practice (Bloomington, IN: Westbow Press, 2012).
Photo by Austin Kehmeier on Unsplash
