“And He will be called Wonderful Counselor,” (Isaiah 9:6 NIV)
A friend and I were on the phone the other day, discussing her ongoing wrestle with depression. She share how she felt so guilty experiencing it; she was trying terribly hard to reason herself out of her feelings. I heard the shame in her voice and recognized the author. Our enemy lays on shame thick, suffocating the true root of our troubles under a robust layer of “I shouldn’t.” Shame is always sourced in the enemy, it’s a downstairs agenda designed to stifle and paralyze, to keep us from taking our concerns to a compassionate and capable God.
What if we changed our strategy? What if instead of letting shame call the shots and distance us from our Creator, we could learn to bring those painful, dark or sad thoughts right into His throne room?
Somehow we can get all the way through Christmas without realizing that our Savior – the little babe in the manger – is also our Wonderful Counselor. A counselor is a person trained to give guidance on personal, social or psychological problems. And our Counselor truly is wonderful: He’s sovereign and He’s loving. He’s all-knowing and He’s patient. He’s with us in every situation (Immanuel) and He’s honest and kind.
When we remember His role as Wonderful Counselor, we realize our depression and even our shame is never too much for Him. In fact, He took all that, plus our sin, to the cross. The bill has been paid, the deductible met. He hopes that we’ll bring Him our troubles and our ill-feelings because He is the most-qualified Counselor we’ll ever sit down with.
I get it, this Christmas comes at the end of a very long, very challenging year. There have been years in my past where the lights and the carols and the general merriment of Christmas seemed to taunt my personal sorrow. Resist the temptation to bear the darkness all by yourself. Refuse to be buried in shame. There is no need for it. Instead, bring your pain to Jesus and let Him stick His holy fingers into it. It might hurt a bit at first, but then the healing happens and the wound closes up forever.
“He Himself bore our sin in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness: by His wounds you have been healed.”
(1 Peter 2:24 NIV)
“I will be glad and rejoice in Your love, for You saw my affliction and know the anguish of my soul. You have not given me over to the hands of the enemy, but set my feet in a spacious place.” (Psalm 31:7 NIV)
Lord, Christmas can be hard for the hurting. Please tend to our trauma today. Cut through the shrouding and shame. May courage prevail as we expose and You address. Heal hearts and minds and bodies as only You can, Wonderful Counselor. May we unwrap wholeness in this Christmas, an amazing gift from our loving God. Amen.