Do you ever choose a word for your new year? It’s usually a word that summarizes what you hope to be the over all tone of your coming 365 days. My word for 2015 was: Intentional. One thing I chose to be intentional about for these past twelve months was reaping the benefits of counseling. I was in an intense season of mourning from August 2014 on. Left to my own devises, I did not have all the resources I needed to navigate through such deep grief, woven into expectations of life as usual. As I reflect back upon this year, the name of God that means the very most to me in this season of life is: Wonderful Counselor, because that’s exactly who He has been to me.
This time last year, I don’t think I could have ever dreamed of where I would be now. I had lost my only child to miscarriage after years of fertility struggles. For a full year, my goals were mostly focused on getting out of bed every day and making it just one more step.
Early on in my grief process, a friend encouraged me to see a Godly Christian counselor. I had received a little bit of counseling years before from another Godly advisor just after loosing my dad to cancer. But, I had never gone to a licensed professional Christian counselor before. I took a risk and went. After all, I knew I needed help and I knew I had to be the one to be intentional about getting it.
There were so many tears the first few months. My counselor sat there, listened without passing judgment, and helped me learn little by little what it means to lasso my thoughts into captivity so as to measure them by what God’s word said vs. what only my feelings said.
When feelings of dire fear that I and/ or every person I loved was just going to drop dead all of the sudden came… she pointed me back to the truth of God’s Word.
Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? Luke 12:25
When feelings of blame came that maybe I could have done something differently to help preserve the life of my baby came… she pointed me back to the truth of God’s Word.
Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. Psalm 139:16
When feelings of anxiety came that if I ever got pregnant again, this would certainly happen all over again… she pointed me back to the truth of God’s Word.
(again…) Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. Psalm 139:16
When feelings of anger came based on both tiny and large actions, words, or lack there of came from people around me while I was going through one of the hardest times of my life came…she pointed me back to the truth of God’s Word.
You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book. Psalm 56:8
When feelings of guilt for wanting to feel normal and move forward came… she pointed me back to the truth of God’s Word.
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11
I started understanding more about counseling this year, now that I’ve been a regular in my therapist’s office. Being counseled has a lot to do with learning to navigate very hard, confusing times. It’s hard to arrive at an unexpected storm, fully knowing which way to turn. With a counselor, helping direct you to a safe passage, you gain navigational tools that you couldn’t have quite grasped your hands on while floundering about by yourself. But you have to be intentional. You have to make the choice to ask for help, to receive it, and to apply it. A counselor worth their salt always listens and always points you to the best target to fix your eyes upon. That’s how you swim instead of drown in the middle of treacherous waters.
Isn’t it interesting that in one of the primary introductions of whom the coming Messiah would be, the names given to Jesus describe who He came in our world as and who He showed Himself to be once He left His Spirit with us?
God knows our hearts get troubled, messy, and lonely. So, He introduces Himself as our Wonderful Counselor. The Holy Spirit knocks on the doors of our messed up individual worlds to help us sort through all the brokenness with His compass. He listens closely to our stories and directs them to be navigated forward with truth, real truth.
There are times when no one else on the planet understands what it is that has cut our hearts to the point of bleeding out. Then, the Wonderful Counselor enters our big little worlds to stop the hemorrhaging and start the healing.
By the time He’s been invited in as our Wonderful Counselor, He’s also shown us that He is our Mighty God and Everlasting Father.
He rules over all that we were lacking before He came into our scenes by showing us the peace that comes when as Prince, He is mightier than all the problems we acquire on this journey. The name He assures us with time and time again after He has fully entered our worlds is none other than Prince of Peace.
Is your world troubled today?
Invite the Wonderful Counselor to come in and guide you from all consuming hurt to all comforting healing.
Christmas is a great time to let the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace come into your world.
He was born to us…yes, even us.
“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 Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6