December 24: Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace
“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 Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
When my daughter was born, I was so incredibly excited to share the news with the world. She came three weeks early and so it was a bit of a surprise to all. But once she had come, we couldn’t wait to announce her arrival to anyone who would hear the news. In Isaiah 9:6, we read of a birth announcement with a difference: it is an announcement made in advance. And not just that, it’s seven hundred years in advance! God is able to do the undoable, and promise the unpromisable!
And in this birth announcement we find a wonderful promise. We read of a child who is to be born, but not just any ordinary child. Consider the names he is given! Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Each of these give us an amazing insight into who this child would be and become for the world. He would be the Wonderful Counsellor, full of wisdom, love and strength for weary souls. He would be Mighty God, not weak and helpless but powerful and able, with nothing standing outside of his ability to change or correct. He would be Everlasting Father, filled with a deep fatherly love for his children even as he is loved by his Father. And he would be Prince of Peace, the bringer of permanent and lasting resolution to the raging chaos of the universe. His reign will be marked by a sense of pure rightness – things as they truly should be, indeed, things as they were created to be. Nothing in all of existence can compare to the good news of this birth announcement. This Christmas Eve, take a moment in prayer. Pray through each of those four titles, and thank Him for all he is.