Wonderful Counselor

And his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor. Isaiah 9:6

The words “wonder” and “wonderful” appear frequently in our culture. Examples include a seasonally favorite Christmas movie called “It’s a Wonderful Life.” When I was growing up in Indiana, we also watched a popular television program on Sunday nights called “The Wonderful World of Disney.” Later, “The Wonder Years,” a popular television sitcom, ran on ABC from 1988 to 1993. Recently, Cathryn and I visited the red-rock civilization in Jordan called Petra, which became one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World in 2007. Wonder Bread, Wonder Woman, and Boy Wonder, Batman’s nickname for Robin, also come to mind.

There’s more for us to wonder about. Most of us learned a children’s nursery rhyme that says, “Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are.” The music world likes the word “wonder.” For example, John Jacob Niles wrote lyrics to a catchy Christian hymn with a Christmas theme called “I Wonder as I Wander.”

Some music transports us into another place and time, filling our hearts with child-like awe, wonder, and amazement. Other songs help us explore the wonderful world of love and romance. Consider these tunes made popular by well-known artists.

• “I Wonder” by Ye (Kanye West)
• “Wonderland” by Taylor Swift
• “Wonderful Tonight” by Eric Clapton
• “What a Wonderful World” by Louie Armstrong
• “Boogie Wonderland” by Earth, Wind, and Fire
• “Makes Me Wonder” by Maroon 5
• “Wonderful Christmas Time” by Paul McCartney
• “Winter Wonderland” by Tony Bennett
• “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” by Andy Williams

Truly, the celebration of the birth of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, makes Christmas the most wonderful time of the year. The prophet Isaiah anticipated this by using the word “wonderful” to describe a child who would be born eight hundred years later. “And his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor.”

Wonderful

What does Isaiah mean by “wonderful”? The Holy Spirit inspired the prophet to use a word much weightier than the way we use “wonderful” culturally, which implies something is delightful, pleasurable, or worthy of admiration. The Hebrew word translated “wonderful” (pala) indicates “a phenomenon lying outside the realm of human explanation; that which is separated from the normal course of events.”

In Judges 13:17-18, Manoah asked the Lord, who appeared to Samson’s father in a theophany, to reveal His name, to which the angel of the Lord responded, “Why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful?” By using the word “wonderful,” the Lord implied His name was beyond Manoah’s human understanding.

David used the word “wonderful” when he expressed his response to God’s omniscience by saying, “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain it” (Psalm 139:6). Later, he exclaimed, “I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (139:13-14) when considering how his Creator formed his inward parts and stitched him together in his mother’s womb like a skilled seamstress. “Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.”

Jesus demonstrated what a real wonder He was during His earthly ministry, starting with His virgin birth (Matthew 1:23). His supernatural healing power, awe-inspiring teaching (Matthew 13:54), and perfect responses to the devil’s temptations all point to His wondrous nature. More than anything, Jesus’s resurrection from the dead says He is truly someone beyond the realm of human explanation. For these reasons and more, Christmas, as much as any other time of the year, should leave us wonderstruck.

Counselor

To know God by His Christmas names also means to know Him as a Wonderful Counselor. In Bible times, a king like Solomon gave wise counsel and guidance to his people. Today, counselors abound. It seems that everybody has a counselor or therapist to help them manage their mental health. More so, students go to guidance counselors. Investors seek the advice of financial counselors. Marriage counselors help husbands and wives reconcile their differences. Proverbs says there is safety in the abundance of human counselors (27:9). But no counsel is worth listening to more than Jesus’s wonderful counsel. He is full of divine wisdom from above that we can always trust. His counsel is phenomenal and outside the realm of human reasoning.

The Gospel According to Luke says of Jesus, “The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him” (Luke 2:40). As early as twelve years old, Jesus’s wonderful counsel became apparent in conversations with the Jewish rabbis in the temple. Luke says, “All who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers” (2:46-47). During His public ministry, Jesus spoke in parables, and people responded by saying, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works?” (Matthew 13:54). Even the Apostle Paul said of Jesus, “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3). Jesus’s counsel is astounding because it is truly out of this world.

Perhaps more than any other time in history, we need the Wonderful Counselor. Today, the world is swimming in flat-out foolishness. For example, the other day I heard about a man who appeared on the Dr. Phil show who was advocating for the non-reproduction of human life. He believes the greatest threat to planet earth is homo sapiens. If human beings stop reproducing, he argued, eventually we will go extinct. This, he says, would be best for the planet’s ecosystem. I know, I know. Who hit this man with the stupid stick? But The New York Times lauded him in an article, calling him “thoughtful.” Serious? Someone hit The New York Times with the same stupid stick.

The further our world drifts away from the Wonderful Counselor, the more stupid we become. The opposite is true as well. The closer we get to the Wonderful Counselor, the wiser we become. Christmas is a time to embrace the wonderful wisdom of God, not the woke world of Disney.

This Christmas, draw near to the Wonderful Counselor and worship Him. When you do, He will direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6 says it this way, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”

Allow me to paraphrase these verses by saying, “Trust in the Wonderful Counselor with all your heart, and do not be surprised when your own counsel or the world’s is out of step with His, because His ways and His thoughts are more wonderful than ours. Seek His phenomenal counsel first and always, and He will guide you in the best way every time.”

To whom do you go when you need good counsel? Human counselors can be good if they counsel you from the word of God. But not everyone who calls himself or herself a counselor is worth hearing.

If you had asked me when I was twenty years old what I would be doing today, my answer would look nothing like what I am doing today. That is because the Wonderful Counselor had other plans for me, and I am glad He did. The path He directed for my life has not been easy, but it has always turned out for the best.

If you face decisions this Christmas that perplex you, start by making your way to Bethlehem and worshipping the Wonderful Counselor, who came from heaven to earth to rescue lost sinners and show you how much He loves you. His counsel is wonderful because it is always perfect, even though it is out of this world. Because Jesus is the Wonderful Counselor, the most wonderful time of the year is truly when we celebrate His birth.