Wonderful Counselor

“O come O come Emmanuel.”

For thousands of years these words echoed as God’s people waited for Christmas to come. Generation after generation, they reminded one another of God’s promises as they waited for the coming Messiah. 

And every December, as we wait for Christmas, we pause to linger in their waiting. We reflect on God’s promises and their glorious fulfillment in Jesus at Christmas. And then we too look forward as we wait for Christ’s promised return. And so every Advent we remind each other: Christ has come, and Christ will come again.

And some of the richest scriptures for this season come from the book of Isaiah. There God draws the gaze of his people with glimpses and descriptions of who the coming Messiah will be.

I can only imagine how exciting Isaiah’s family devotions must have been. Imagine with me, the prophet Isaiah, sitting down with his children, eager to share what God had revealed to him… He might say: Kids, remember the Messiah I’ve been telling you about? The one who will come to rescue Israel? Well, there’s more…

His name will be Wonderful Counselor: Not in the trivial ways we use “wonderful,” — but the real thing! His wisdom will instill awe and wonder far beyond the wisdom of Solomon, or any human understanding. And his perfect wisdom will make his counsel faultless. In every question, and every matter, his words will be indisputable.

And, (Isaiah might continue), this is especially good news for a people in a land of deep darkness. Because the darkness is a place of confusion. But when the Messiah comes we will only need to look to him, to follow his counsel, and we will never be lost again. The day is coming, when “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.”

Now, as incredible as it must have been for Isaiah to share all these things, he could only have dreamed of all that God has revealed to us, and all that we get to share with our families. 

Because into that land of deep darkness, Jesus Christ, the Wonderful Counselor has come. And Jesus says: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

In Jesus are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Even as a child, all who heard him were amazed. And eventually, even his enemies didn’t dare question him. On every matter, and every question, his word is indisputable. Jesus is “wonderful in counsel and excellent in wisdom.” (ch.28)

Can you imagine, when Jesus comes back, how awesome it will be to never be “in the dark” on anything ever again? We will have unhindered access to the perfect wisdom of the Wonderful Counselor. Can you imagine never being stuck on a decision ever again?

And yet, I suspect that even now, our main issue isn’t a lack of counsel. Because Christ has come. He has revealed himself to us. He has given us His word as a lamp for our feet and a light for our path. And he has given us the Holy Spirit, (the counselor) — who dwells in us. For us, the main issue is, do we see his counsel as wonderful?

Do we trust in His wisdom — as revealed in his Word? Or do we still fall back to leaning on our own understanding?

My exhortation this morning is: trust in the wisdom and counsel of the Wonderful Counselor.