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

Several years ago, Patrina and I attended the Christmas gathering for a drug and alcohol treatment program in Cincinnati. Let’s just say it was an interesting evening. As the program concluded we were encouraged to join in during the Christmas sing-along. It was unrehearsed. It included an accordion. And it reminded us of the importance of recognizing the impact of the Savior.

The messianic prophecy above reminds us of why we should repeat the sounding joy.

Christ is the Wonderful Counselor. Later, Isaiah described the attributes this way: “He is wonderful in counsel and excellent in wisdom”(Isaiah 28:29). Unlike us, Christ is not in need of a word from the wise, He is sufficient.

Mighty God. Christ is the One who would turn water into wine, heal the blind, feed the five thousand, forgive the sinner. Colossians 1:17 reminds us that Jesus “is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” He is Mighty God.

Everlasting Father. The first word describes God without beginning and without end and He is not limited by the constraints of time as we are. Everlasting describes the Messiah as Father and Jesus said that when we have seen Him, we have seen the Father. (John 14:9). The story of Advent is the story of God’s compassion. “As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him” (Psalm 103:13).

Prince of Peace. We live in a world of wars and conflict. We are rebellious and so peace is a struggle that is never reached. While the world seems to think that peace is achieved through strength, Christ brought real peace through His own sacrifice.

If you need to be reminded of the reason for your joy, consider these four descriptive phrases and let your joy be renewed.