Day 14 – Counselor

“Wonderful Counselor. Almighty God. The everlasting Father. The Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6).

What a list of promises the prophets proclaim to be fulfilled in one tiny baby. And yet the first is Counselor. God as helper, advisor, therapist.

We’ve all heard it over and over again: mental health matters. Stress, we’re told by a Columbia University study, can have a more harmful effect on the body smoking five cigarettes a day. During my first pregnancy I read an article about the negative impact a mother’s stress levels can have on a developing fetus. As a natural worrier, I’d already done all the “just to be safe” things told to pregnant women; my greatest feat being that I didn’t drink a drop of caffeine for the entire 40 weeks. Reading this all I could think was, “Great! Now I have to be stressed about stress!”

For me, mental health has been on my mind much longer than it’s been on trend. Clinical depression and bipolar disorder have made an ugly showing in my family history. These horrific diseases took my grandfather when I was only two years old. And, in the days leading up to my dad’s stroke, we had a family meeting to broach the topic of him seeking help for what seemed to us like signs of depression. I don’t worry about my cholesterol nearly as much as I worry about the impact of stress on my long term health.

“Cast all your cares upon Him, for He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7). What an invitation. What a promise. I have yet to find a human who can take on 100% of my worries, concerns, aggravations, fears, and complaints. Yet God is an ear that always listens. And while all this is true, the fact remains that we are still imperfect people living in a broken world and at times we need more than even that promise offers. Historically, Christians have prescribed faith and prayer as the one true panacea. Recently we have gotten better at recognizing the important role of professionals to help us in our physical and our mental health, but the implication lingers. If Christ is Counselor, what else do you need? That’s a dangerous question to someone in crisis.

Thankfully, in all His understanding God is still giving us what we need as we learn more about the brain, about how to navigate trauma, about how to breathe deep and move forward. Christ as Counselor is not limited in how He heals. We are invited to sit in the chair—His or another’s—and find the healing we need; healing He promises to bring.

As a lifelong worrier, this is the message of Jesus, for me, that transcends any other. This is the part of Christmas that Christ as Counselor is teaching me to lean into. Sit down. Breathe. Have a cookie. Find grace for yourself. Ask for help when you need it. Allow for imperfection. Enjoy.