Isaiah 9:6: "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor..." (ESV)
When it comes to thinking about Jesus Christ coming in the flesh and why we truly celebrate Christmas, Isaiah 9:6 is probably the greatest passage in the Bible related to the incarnation. The Bible says, that it is this "child" who will be God in the flesh, the predicted Immanuel, the royal son of David who will rule his Kingdom and the nations of the world. However, in Isaiah 53 we are told that Jesus would be "despised and rejected, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief." He knew what it was like to stare pain, darkness, sadness, despair, and suffering in the face and yet was not swallowed up in hopelessness and defeat. He was and is a victorious King and Savior! He is the God-Man who defeated sin and all of it's terrible effects and provides wonderful hope and counsel to all those who swear allegiance to Him.
Isaiah said he is the "Wonderful Counselor." This is the first name given for the incarnated Savior. The name has a promise attached: Jesus is able to counsel and direct those who are in despair. Jesus is able to impart supernatural wisdom and direction despite the darkness of people's sin, feelings, or circumstances. At the time Isaiah was prophet, Israel was being attacked on all sides. Much of the people of God’s physical, spiritual, and emotional depression were brought on by the idolatry and disobedience in their lives. They stopped listening to God and the prophets in whom he sent to them. They gave up all hope and simply adopted a fatalistic philosophy of life, "Eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die" (Isaiah 22). They looked to other things to be a functional savior to them and deliver them from their despair but did not turn to the one thing they needed most: the promise of the Wonderful Counselor to give them the hope they desperately needed. They took their eyes off of God, off of the promised Messiah, and they stopped believing in the promises of God.
If we are not careful, we can take our eyes off of the Lord this time of year more than ever. While we may find ourselves attending church services and singing Christmas hymns and opening presents, we can be filled with sadness, emptiness, depression, and despair. We may find ourselves drinking away all our problems with a bottle or we may find ourselves charging up the credit card in hopes that those things will treat, cover, and hide the pain. Many of us know all too well what it is like to struggle with feelings of depression, especially at Christmas time. If not careful we can turn to ourselves or some illegitimate joy that we think will help the problem, but it in the end it only makes it worse.
Although I advocate seeing a doctor and possibly being on some kind of anti-depressant if a person's depression does not get better, especially if you are doing everything God says to do, I also know that a pill is not the total solution. The Bible says that most of our depression is related to one thing: taking eyes off of the Lord and focusing on myself and my problems. Depression at the heart is a spiritual problem, not just a physical one. While the feelings of depression are not sin, the thinking of depression can be sinful. Anytime we willfully turn inward instead of upward towards the Lord, we commit sin. Anytime we turn to other things to treat the problem and not the Lord, we commit sin. Again, Israel's problem was eyes on themselves, eyes on their idols, and eyes off of God. The result was depression and despair.
In many of the people I counsel who are battling depression and despair, one common response I hear over and over again, is, "I am not in the Bible. I am not turning to the Lord." While I personally know the battle against depression is long and hard, the first step is turning to the Lord. Lasting and legitimate joy can only come from the Lord. So this Christmas set your hope and eyes on the Wonderful Counselor. Read His Word and follow His advice and you will begin to crawl and walk out of the basement of depression and the pit of despair. Only Jesus can turn your superficial Christmas into something supernatural. Only Jesus can heal the deep hurt and pain of depression. Only Jesus can give you the lasting hope you need when the darkness of depression begins to overwhelm you. He knows what it is like to feel rejected and despised. Turn away from negative thinking and self-sufficiency and remember: there is no emptiness in Christ, only hope! You can find that hope right now if you choose.
For the Fame of His Name,
Pastor Ryan
