Gifts are sometimes bought as a result of strolling down the aisles of a store, looking for just the “right gift.” We don’t quite know what the gift should be, but we’re sure to recognize it when we see it. The inspiration for the gift will come when we’re looking for it. Have you ever done that?
Unlike that wandering strategy of gift selection, God planned out the gift of our redemption from since the beginning of Creation. It wasn’t a spur of the moment, last minute decision. The gift had been planned and announced throughout more than three hundred Old Testament prophecies.
God lovingly prepared and willingly gave the gift of eternal life in the baby of Bethlehem, Jesus Christ.
The divine birth announcement was recorded hundreds of years prior to the birth.
For unto 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
Four descriptive names were given to the promised One. Let’s unwrap these gifts.
In opening the first of the name gifts, we receive him as Wonderful Counselor. “Wonder” translates “supernatural, something uncommon or out of the ordinary.” Jesus is wonder-full, being both God and man. He is more than ordinary, though he came as a baby. His birth leads us to wonder of His greatness and worship Him.
“Counselor” refers to a king giving counsel and direction to his people during times of trouble. Have you ever needed a counselor? Through seeking the Lord in prayer, we gain his wisdom.
If anyone lacks wisdom, let him ask God.” James 1:5
The counsel of the Lord brings joy in spite of a hostile world and peace in the midst of storms.
The next gift of the name is Mighty God. It is hard to comprehend how a tiny baby can be mighty. The phrase states that Jesus has divine power as a mighty warrior. When we are frightened by Satan’s tactics, we can turn to the Lord as our defender. He protects us when we come to Him.
If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling,
no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent. Psalm 91:9-10
We can praise Him be being the Mighty God, a warrior fighting on our behalf, our champion over sin and death.
Unwrapping the next name, we find He is Everlasting Father. He is eternal and will always be there with the qualities of compassion, protection and provision. He is like a caring, earthly father who desires relationship with us.
As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him. Psalm 103:13
Jesus stated defined his relationship to God the Father in several New Testament passages.
“I and the Father are one.” John 10:30
“Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” John 14:9
We can praise him for being Everlasting Father, who will not leave. us.
As we unwrap the fourth of the gifts, we discover he is the Prince of Peace. At his birth, the angels proclaimed peace. The word spoken by Jesus in a post-resurrection appearance was peace. Because Jesus is the Prince of Peace, we are reconciled to God through his grace.
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Romans 5:1-2
We can cast our cares upon him in prayer, exchanging anxiety for his peace.
All of these gifts of the characteristics of God comforted me when I had a biopsy on my tongue earlier this year. I sought the Lord as my Wonderful Counselor as I trusted the doctor’s judgment. As Mighty God, the Lord provided strength and courage during the procedure. I rested in the refuge of His love during the uncertainty of waiting for test results. As I recover, I drew near to my Everlasting Father for comfort and healing. Through all of this, I had the peace of God within me—Jesus was my Prince of Peace.
Unwrapping the gifts of the names in Isaiah 9:6 leads us to worship God for His provision and love.
Because of the birth of Jesus, we are brought into relationship with God.
As you unwrap gifts this Christmas, may you also unwrap the precious gift of redemption through Jesus Christ.
Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift. 2 Corinthians 9:15
