“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6

This verse is a beautiful promise written by Isaiah, speaking to the kingdom of Israel. They were in a situation where they didn’t know what to do. They felt powerless and their enemies seemed to be growing stronger and stronger. They wondered where God was and if He had abandoned them.

This year we might have felt a little like Israel: a pandemic growing without an end in sight, wondering where God was and if He had abandoned us…

But Christmas reminds us that God has not abandoned us. In fact, He is here with us. He is our…

Wonderful Counselor

Don’t you love this adjective “Wonderful”? He is not just our counselor but a wonderful one! In the confusion of life we can go to Him for His instruction and we can trust Him. We can go to Him with all our pain and burdens. This year has been an especially difficult one for all of us…go to your Wonderful Counselor with your pain.

Mighty God

He can do what no one else can do. In His might, He can bring to pass mediation and reconciliation. In Hebrew, this is translated to “mighty hero.” I love that. We don’t need to look for a superhero to rescue us, we have a mighty hero in Him.

Everlasting Father

The word father can bring up many feelings. We may have a wonderful earthly father who we’ve now lost or a father who didn’t live up to the expectations we had. Expectations of a father could be caring, a protector, a provider- and in our Everlasting Father we have all that we could hope for. We have a Father who will never leave us. He is a Father who knows us by name, who knows every tear we’ve cried. He sees, cares, and loves us as a father loves his child.

Prince of Peace

He is a God of peace. Peace is His very nature! Nothing can ever rob Him of His peace and that’s what He wants for us- the ability to be at peace in any situation. Whatever situation is weighing on you, keeping you up at night, or haunting your thoughts, He will give you peace.

This Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace was given TO us. To us who are sinners, who turned away from God, who forgot Him and chose to go our own way… Still God gave us the best gift – Jesus.

“When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” Romans 5:6-8

We can get so caught up in our lives that this gift gets taken for granted. I’ve been walking with the Lord for 23 years and still, I fail to recognize the priceless gift that it is. Stress, sickness, burdens, debt, and day to day life cloud my vision and my blurry eyes don’t take it in.

Can you relate?

I pray this Christmas season, in the midst of what may be a different sort of celebration, the magnitude of His gift is felt in your heart. Felt and then treasured and then lived out in a life of gratitude.

Merry Christmas, friends!