Isaiah: Counselor

For unto us a Child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor… Isaiah 9:6 [KJV]

Has there ever been a time in your life when you had an overwhelming need to talk to someone?  I’m not talking about a morning coffee chat or a mind-blowing gossip session.  I’m referring to a deep need for someone who will quietly listen while you open your heart and bare your soul.  A good friend often fills this role in our lives—someone that has the discipline not to reveal to others what they have been told.  Occasionally, however, there is the need for an individual who has the training to provide something more—advice, guidance, counsel.    

The Hebrew word for today’s name, יצץ [yaw-ats’], means to advise; to deliberate or resolve; to counsel, determine; guide… in other words, a Counselor.  We have available to us, 24/7, One whose very name indicates His ability and willingness to fulfill this role.  The problem, of course, is that we can not sit across from Him and weigh His words, His eyes, His body language; we are such visual creatures, needing the reassurance of that which we can see. There have been numerous times in my life when I, seething with frustration, yelled at Him rather than talked, wishing above all things that I had access to Jacob’s ladder and could march right up to His sacred realm and confront Him—eye to eye, mano-a-mano.  

Several years ago, the movie The Prince of Egypt offered me a different perspective.  In the film, Jethro – High Priest of Midian – offers Moses some advice that applies to all of us as well.  We often don’t have the wisdom and insight to deal with what life throws our way.  Our vision becomes clouded with our own pain and frustration.  That’s when we need guidance to look at our lives a different way – through Heaven’s eyes.

A single thread in a tapestry
Through its color brightly shine
Can never see its purpose
In the pattern of the grand design

And the stone that sits on the very top
Of the mountain's mighty face
Does it think it's more important
Than the stones that form the base?

So how can you see what your life is worth
Or where your value lies?
You can never see through the eyes of man -
You must look at your life,
Look at your life,
Look at your life through heaven's eyes