Wonderful Counselor
December 17, 2021
| “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor” (Isaiah 9:6) My husband teases me often because I do not know some common idioms like “an elephant never forgets”. I usually think he is making these things up, then we’ll hear them said all the time on TV or in movies and I have to swallow my pride and admit he was right. I tell him it’s because I’m from New York and we say what we mean there, usually with some curse words in between. But God wired me to feel very uncomfortable if I don’t understand exactly what something means. So I don’t like “an elephant never forgets” because that sounds like we would have some understanding of what an elephant does or does not remember and I imagine an elephant wife holding a grudge or something and I just don’t get how anyone would have that insight. This need of mine to understand things in the most base terms affects the way I study the Bible, because when I see “Wonderful Counselor”, I imagine sitting with Jesus in an office somewhere and telling Him all my problems and hearing Him respond clearly and quickly, and it can be hard for me to relate what I know in earthly terms as a counselor with this beautiful promise that the Savior humanity had been waiting for and longing for would be called a “Wonderful Counselor”. Does that strike you as much as it does me, that it was a comfort to these people to know that God was promising them a Counselor in Jesus Christ? Is that something you value in Him yourself? I have been through counseling myself at various times throughout my life. When I have sought counsel, it was because I felt I couldn’t make sense of things on my own and needed expert help from an outside perspective to help me walk through things and heal from things and repent of things. Who is Jesus if not someone that will walk with us, heal us, and lead us to repentance? Are we all not lost and in need of constant guidance in all areas of our lives? Jesus Himself will walk through those things with us and will be the most faithful companion as we look to Him for direction and advice. If you are like me, you may be asking yourself “yes, but how?” The more we know Jesus, the more we will hear His counsel in any situation. Because I know that Jesus wept over the lost, when my own heart is broken and hurting for the lost that I love, I can weep with Jesus over them and pray for them instead of being judgmental and walking away. I can love those who hurt or offend me because I see how Jesus loved those who hurt and offended Him. I can cast my anxiety on Him knowing how much He cares for me. I can do scary things because I see how Jesus sweat blood as He petitioned the Father to remove the cup of suffering set before Him, but He did not run away from the suffering He was about to face. In every situation I face, Jesus is my Counselor as I seek Him and listen to His guidance that He gave us throughout His entire life on this earth. And Jesus is a Wonderful Counselor because He experienced every temptation I will ever face and lived His life in perfect obedience. He guides me with gentleness and love, not with harsh condemnation or disappointment. Better than any friend or any therapist on this earth, Jesus is the most Wonderful Counselor. |
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