Unto us, a child is born…and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor! This is part one of a four-part series based on Isaiah’s prophecy about the Messiah. He says our Messiah is a Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace.

This series is based on some of the most famous prophecies about the Messiah in the Bible. These prophesies were made by the prophet Isaiah 700 years before the birth of Jesus. 

Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Isaiah 9:6 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, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6 declared both the humanity (“a Child is born”) and the deity (“a Son is given”) of the Lord Jesus Christ. Then Isaiah uses four names that describe the Messiah. These names reveal Jesus’ character and how God relates to us through His Son: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace.

Wonderful Counselor

The Hebrew word Isaiah uses for “Wonderful” is a word that means “beyond understanding”. When Isaiah sets out to describe Jesus, he didn’t have the right words to use. Isaiah is saying there are no words great enough to tell you just how awesome He is. He’s saying the Messiah is glorious, magnificent, awesome — He is too wonderful for words.

The Hebrew word Isaiah uses for “counselor” is a word that means “one who advises, instructs, or guides from a position of authority.” This describes someone who has the wisdom to know the solution to our problems and the power to enact the solution. It implies that this person is someone you can bring your worst problems to, and He can show you the way out.

Isaiah says that one day a son will be born & a child will be given to us and He will be our Wonderful Counselor. He will know us and care for us and understand exactly what we are going through. And when we ask Him for wisdom…He will give it to us!

I love that Jesus is our Wonderful Counselor. It shows that He came for people with problems. Jesus said He came not for the healthy but for the sick. He came not to reward the righteous, but to save the sinner.

Approaching Jesus

How do we approach Jesus and find the help we need from our Wonderful Counselor?

1. We must be brutally honest with Him – We have to be honest with God because He’s not going to change our lives without changing us. He wants to transform us from the inside out and we have to be honest with Him to get the help we need. The reality is that there is nothing you can hide from God and there is nothing about you that can be revealed that will surprise Him. To receive wisdom from our Wonderful Counselor, He simply wants us to be honest and confess it. 
2. We have to want to receive His help – Often we want the benefits of God’s guidance and direction but don’t want to go through the hard work that comes with His counsel. We want God to clean up the mess of our lives without dealing with the choices and patterns that got us into the mess. 
3. We need to be willing to do what He says – Obedience is hard and sometimes it doesn’t make sense. Jesus tells us to extend forgiveness when it doesn’t make sense; He tells us to give sacrificially but we don’t know how we can afford it; He tells us to step out in faith but that requires stepping out of our comfort zone. And in those moments, we have to decide: Do we really trust Him enough to do what He says? Do we really trust He can handle this?

As we approach the Wonderful Counselor, we have to ask ourselves…

• Am I willing to be completely honest with Him?
• Do I really want to be helped by Him?
• Am I ready to do whatever He says?

Here’s the good news, God can guide you through any situation you’re walking through right now. But He gives us something far greater than that. He gives us himself. And Isaiah says is too wonderful for words!