Why You Need a Wonderful Counselor
Why You Need a Wonderful Counselor
Most of us try to give off the vibe that our life is sunny and bright. We’re posting pictures of the new car, the new house, the fantastic dinner, the epic vacation. Why? Because we want to look like we know what we’re doing. We want people to think we’ve got it all together.
But Isaiah says we’re all just walking around in the darkness:
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; a light has dawned on those living in the land of darkness. (Isaiah 9:2)
Whether we realize it or not, we’re all just stumbling around in the dark. That’s why we all need a light.
Sometimes it takes us a while to realize that. Like when you get in your car at night, and you’re in a bright parking lot, you don’t realize your lights aren’t on until you pull onto a street with no streetlights. Suddenly you realize how dark it is, and you’re lunging for the headlights.
Maybe in your life right now, you’re driving on well-lit streets, in a nice big car. But eventually, you’re going to make a turn onto a street. And it’s going to be dark. You won’t know what’s in front of you. It could be a cement truck, or it could be a cliff. You just don’t know.
There comes a point in life when you realize you need a light. You need a guide. You need a counselor. And that’s exactly what God delivered:
For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on his shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)
Isaiah was talking about Jesus, the Wonderful Counselor. Jesus knows you way better than your doctor or therapist. Jesus knows you better than your husband or your wife. Jesus knows you way better than you know yourself! He knows what your deepest needs are, and how to provide for them. He knows how to encourage you. How to empower you. How to challenge and convict you.
He’s not like the friend you call up and vent to. You pour out your problems and your friend says, “Mmmm … Oh yeah … Oh, that’s terrible … No you should be mad … Yeah, I hate them too!”
This isn’t the kind of counselor who just gives you a shoulder to cry on. This is the kind of counselor who shows you the way out of the darkness you’re in.
Jesus is the wonderful counselor. The literal definition of wonderful is is miraculous. I know, we use the word wonderful when we’re talking about feel-good holiday movies, or Christmas light displays, or even pistachios.
But in the Hebrew used by Isaiah, the word wonderful means something far beyond our power and understanding. The Hebrew word is pehla. Which has the idea difficulty. Something really difficult to do, or to bring about, or to figure out. When there’s a problem no human can solve? That’s pehla. When there’s an obstacle no human can move? That’s pehla.
Like in Genesis 18, when there’s a woman named Sarah who’s been longing to have a child, but she’s 90 years old so she knows it can never happen. God says, “Is there anything too pehla for the Lord?”
In Exodus 3, when the Israelites are slaves in Egypt and it doesn’t seem like there’s any way out. God says, “When I stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all my pehla that I will perform in it, after that, he will let you go.”
In Jeremiah 32, after Israel has been conquered, and the land is destroyed. It seems like Israel will be in ruins forever. Nobody could ever rebuild it. But Jeremiah says, “Oh, Lord God! You yourself made the heavens and earth by your
great power and with your outstretched arm. Nothing is pehla for you!”
And that’s the word Isaiah’s using to describe Jesus. When there’s a problem you’re facing that you can’t figure out? A mess you made that you can’t get yourself out of?
You need JESUS. The wonderful counselor. He can do everything you can’t do on your own.
So go read your Bible, and Jesus will counsel you from his Word. Get into prayer, and Jesus will counsel you through his Holy Spirit. Get into serious Christian community, and Jesus will counsel you through his Body. He’s the wonderful counselor, and he’ll use all these avenues to do things in your life you could never do for yourself.