Thursday, December 28, 2023
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, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6
In Isaiah chapter 9, the prophet Isaiah told of the coming Messiah. During this time, God’s people were in serious rebellion, so Isaiah delivered both good news of hope and bad news of the devastation they were sure to invoke upon themselves. Part of the good news was that message of hope of a coming Messiah who would save them. In this message Isaiah told them that this coming King would be a Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Yesterday we looked at how Jesus is our Wonderful Counselor and Mighty God, and today we see how He is our Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace.
Jesus is our Everlasting Father
He is our everlasting Father who loves us with everlasting love, even when we mess up. He never stops loving us. He never gives up on us. He always leaves the 99 to save the 1, giving His own life for us while we were still sinners. He loves us so much more than we can ever fathom. He is our eternal Father who always has been – before time began, and He always will be in eternity.
He is present - always there. We will always be His children. He is unchanging and eternally consistent.
He is our provider. He provides for us the way a loving father provides for his children. He cares about us and will meet our every need. Anything we could ever need or want we can find in Him. Nothing else can ever satisfy the need in us that only He can meet. He came to earth to provide for our greatest need – mercy and forgiveness of sin which leads to eternal life.
He is perfect. He makes no mistakes. He loves us with a perfect love. He took our sin so we could become perfect before a holy God.
Jesus is our Prince of Peace
Sin separates us from God and therefore we cannot have peace being separated from Him. But in Jesus, we find true and lasting peace. Because of what He did on the cross, we are justified and reconciled with God. Sin pulls us apart and produces anxiety. But when we find true peace in Him, we are knitted back together.
Jesus also provides another type of peace – peace from the tribulation of this world. Jesus told us there would be trials and hardships in this life, but He also told us that we could find peace because He has overcome the world. There is suffering but we can be courageous because He has overcome the world.
I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.” John 16:33
No matter what is happening in the world or what kind of circumstances we are living in we can find peace when we look to Jesus. We can find peace knowing that He has overcome everything we feel overwhelmed by. He has already fought the battle for us and won the victory. Trusting in Him and knowing He has conquered the world will bring us peace. We can rest in Who He is as our Prince of Peace.
Jesus is the promise fulfilled, the long awaited Messiah, for all of us. These four things that we have looked at are promises fulfilled in our lives today. He was back then and is today our Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace.
