Wonderful Counselor

Isaiah 9:6
“For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

What is a counselor? A counselor is one of the most important people we can possibly have in our lives. The definition of a counselor is: "a person who counsels; adviser". They don't just give advice, they actually advise us from their own storehouse of wisdom, knowledge and life experience. They show us how to better cope with the stresses of life. They give much needed guidance, share in our heartaches, and provide the support we need. Counselors are one of the greatest resources we have in our lives.

In choosing a counselor we look for someone who is both qualified and truly "gets" us. When we tap into God as our counselor we tap into the most qualified being in the universe. This is the one who created the universe and everything in it. He perfectly understands human nature because he actually created it. What better counselor than the one who created us and intricately understands the intricacy and complexity of our body minds and spirits and the way they work together? It is often said the human body is a miracle. It is very hard to believe there is no God when looking at the complexity and intricacy of the human body in all of its systems and functions. If we think the body is complex, then the mind is the crown jewel in complexity. The human brain is a vast highway of interconnecting nerve endings and synapses. It is virtually impossible for us to understand what is going on inside of someone else's brain, but God understands it perfectly. He can see with x-ray vision and perfectly diagnose every problem within seconds.

We often search Google reviews to find good counselors, but the greatest Counselor is not listed on Google and His testimonies number in the millions. He has transformed more lives than any other in history. There is no other like Him. He is wondrous. Instead of being booked solid and unavailable like most in-demand counselors, He is always on call- 7 days a week, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. He is more than willing to help anyone, anywhere in the world. He will counsel people in Antarctica and Africa...even at the same time. It doesn't matter what type of insurance you have or if you even have insurance. He doesn't require payment. He is simply amazing, and He is the most proven Healer the world has ever known. He can heal mental ailments as well as physical and spiritual ones. He came into this ailing fallen world to bind up our wounds and show compassion. He came to heal the brokenhearted and set the captives free.

Here is another prophecy about Jesus in Isaiah:

Isaiah 61:1

The Good News of Salvation
“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me,
Because the Lord has anointed Me
To preach good tidings to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;"



He came to not only be our Counselor, but also our Savior. His name is Jesus, and He is now sitting in heaven, glorified. He is Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace, as prophesied in Isaiah. He is as real today as when He walked the earth. If not for Jesus, what hope would we have?He is the most perfect, most brilliant Counselor we could ever hope for. He is all knowing and always says what we need to hear. He has remarkable answers to our most perplexing questions. A regular counselor would never be able to give us all the answers, but God can. He loves every part of us, even the parts we are the least proud of. Instead of getting upset with us, He is infinitely patient and just wants us to change for the better.

Recently I have come to the end of myself and began to feel very overwhelmed with life. I seemed to have the same issues coming up over and over: tardiness, lack of focus, and fatigue. I tried everything I could think of to change these things but it felt impossible. Trying to change felt like lifting a 1000 pound boulder. I took God at His word and said: "If you are truly a Wonderful Counselor then let's have a little counseling session right now." I wrote in my journal and asked God why these things were happening and what I could do to stop them.  Then I waited for Him to respond. As I got the first sentence of His response I started writing it down and more came to me.  It turns out these issues were spiritual in nature and I needed to pray against them. I have been praying everyday against these things and they have dramatically improved. He has also been showing me some other changes I can make to improve. Some would argue that I may have been answering my own questions and it wasn't coming from God. All I know is the advice worked. If I didn't know what to do before, then I am not sure how I could have answered my own questions. If prayer works, then something spiritual is definitely going on.

Prayer is simply talking to God, whether out loud, silently, or in a journal. This is all prayer. It doesn't need to be anything spectacular. It doesn't need to be done in a special way or a special position. It is simply communication with God.  God speaks to us in a multitude of ways. He doesn't only speak through a voice in our minds. He can speak through everyday life experiences, other people, the Bible, sermons, or anything else. Pay close attention and look for it. The answer may be very different from what we imagined it would be. If the answer is so brilliant we would never think of it, it must have come from Him.


1 Thessalonians 5:17
"Pray without ceasing."

God answers prayers of persistent determination and desperation. He is the most valuable asset in our lives. He is worth more than all the money in the world. He gives us things that money simply cannot buy. He gives us security, joy, practical help, faith, love, forgiveness. There is simply no measure in what God can give to us.

Sometimes we may pray for hardships to be taken away, but instead of taking it away God may give insight in how to bear it. Sometimes in bearing it we are learning a lesson in patience. This is a very valuable lesson because patience is infinitely valuable. Patience is love manifested. Love is the nature of God and the pinnacle of all goodness and beauty. When we react patiently we are bringing the kingdom of heaven to earth. There is no higher beauty than that.

We have to pray through hard experiences and wait for the answer. Insights will often appear in our minds after prayer. We can write them down and review them often. Insights from God are very valuable. They should be put into practice. Again, the magic is in the application. Ask how to best apply it. We can take all of our frustrations and failures to God and ask for help. Come with humility and expectancy.

When I write prayers down and look back at them months later I am often surprised when I realize how many of them have been answered. I love looking for the footprints of God in my life. It gives me insight into His mind and the way it works. I am often left wide-eyed and in awe. I could never have dreamed of the scenarios that have happened in my life or how everything has worked together in such a brilliant way. Life truly is a magnificently woven tapestry, woven by the Master. I will never tire of studying God, His ways, His mind, His heart. He is infinitely fascinating. Sometimes looking for the ways God answers prayers can be like looking at a magic eye picture. The object is hidden unless you look at it a certain way. It’s easy to overlook answered prayers, especially if they were not answered in the way we thought they would be. Sometimes the way things work out makes our request no longer needed. When we look at our lives with expectancy and gratitude we see so much more than we could have imagined. So much of life is about perception and the way we view things. Reality is constant but perception can be changed.

I often have overwhelmingly strong feelings throughout the day and find it is difficult to go on with the day unless I deal with them. I write out my feelings and requests and let God speak to me. When I feel discouraged and depleted, He gives me affirmation and encouragement. He fills my heart with the best kind of deep love that brings tears to my eyes. The things that are most important to me are often where I need the most affirmation. My primary love language is words of affirmation. Whenever I don’t get enough affirmation from the people around me God is always more than willing. He says exactly what I need to hear. We can’t always depend on people. They don't always know what we need, and can only give love to the extent they feel loved themselves.

The thing about saying affirmations to change yourself is they don't really work. You cannot lie to yourself. Your mind knows the truth. What we need is deep inner healing to heal wounds that cause negative self talk. Saying a positive affirmation to yourself that is presently untrue (but would like to be true) is like trying to put a band-aid on a gaping wound and saying "you are fine". We know we aren't fine.

Most counselors are helpful, but they cannot get to the very deepest issues of our hearts the way the Wonderful One can. We often will not even know the pain is there unless God reveals it to us. Most issues with self esteem and insecurity are related to trauma. Trauma can be emotional, physical and/ or sexual. Trauma is trauma and we cannot say one type is necessarily worse than another. All trauma needs to be dealt with at some point. We need to get to the source with some one-on-one sessions with God. Much of trauma work involves forgiveness and letting go of past hurts. Much of the reason we hurt on a daily basis is that we are running away from past hurts and avoiding the pain. In order to let go of trauma we need to fully experience the pain in the presence of God. Connect to the source of the pain and experience it in its fullness. It takes courage to feel it but I guarantee it is not as bad as the pain of continuing to run from it.

God is not only a wonderful counselor, but an excellent teacher. He teaches us new things every day through our experiences. Every day is designed to be a learning experience. As I started writing down what I learned each day, I realized the insights just keep on coming and don’t ever stop. God is teaching us every moment. He will give the same lesson until we learn it. I have often felt extremely frustrated during a certain lesson until it dawned on me to try something different. I did what I normally wouldn't do, and the trial subsided. Sometimes it starts back up again later on to make sure you have truly learned it. God gives us insight into every area of our lives if we're looking for it. If you carry a little notebook with you everywhere you can write these insights down so you don't forget them.

Remember- there’s always tomorrow. Life is often two steps forward and one step back. It is a succession of baby steps. Even big steps are really a bunch of baby steps. We often want instant gratification, but life is a learning process. There is a need deep in our hearts to find the meaning of it all, and learn all that we can. Books are a good source of learning, but there is no substitute for life experience. In this life we need to surround ourselves with those who have ample life experience and can provide us with wise counsel. And we need the Wonderful Counselor most of all!

Proverbs 11:14

"Where there is no counsel, the people fall;
But in the multitude of counselors there is safety."