"I am the good shepherd, and I know My sheep and My sheep know Me." (John 10:14)

"The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me; He has sent me to bring good news to the afflicted, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives, and release to prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of our God's vengeance, to comfort all who mourn," (Isaiah 61:1-2).

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder, and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from this time on and forever." (Isaiah 9:6-7).

The second person of the Trinity is Lord Jesus Christ.
Who is Jesus Christ?
The Word of God declares Him as the Savior of humanity. He is the Messiah. He is the Son of God, and He is God Himself. In addition, He is also referred to as the Counselor or Wonderful Counselor.

With various problems and pressures that humans face in life, "counselor" has become a profession that is increasingly needed in this era. A counselor is defined as someone who gives advice, guides, and directs their clients to find a way out in dealing with life's problems. Counselors that we generally know are those who work as psychologists, psychiatrists, and spiritual leaders.

Those suffering from depression need counselors who understand the Word of God and its integration with other sciences. They need counselors who fear God and rely on Him in their counseling practice.Psychologists and psychiatrists also have roles to help the soul struggles of those who experience depression. Psychologists, for example, can perform cognitive therapy to help depression sufferers map their thoughts. Meanwhile, psychiatrists can provide a medical approach that helps depression sufferers. Both are important because the suffering of depression includes biological and physical aspects that need attention.

Christian psychiatrists and Christian counselors have their respective roles and places in the kingdom of God. However, who can truly help the deep problems of depression sufferers? Who can help the deepest human soul? Who is able to give encouragement to a heart that has faded?

The answer is Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Person who can help people who are weary and burdened. The Old Testament has messianic prophecies about Jesus Christ declaring Him as "Wonderful Counselor". Jesus Christ is the Wonderful Counselor who can help every human being experiencing the darkness of the soul.

Jesus Christ can help humanity because as God He knows and understands all human thoughts and hearts. David describes it thus:
“O LORD, You have searched me and known me; You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thoughts from afar. You scrutinize me when I walk and when I lie down, and are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue, but behold, O LORD, You know it altogether.” (Psalm 139:1-4).

In addition to knowing His creation and the problems they face, the Lord Jesus is also capable of resolving the problems of His creation. Because, He is the Almighty God.
Furthermore, Jesus can also understand the struggles of the human soul because He once became human. As a true human, Jesus also suffered and was tempted as we are. The Bible says: "For because He Himself has suffered when tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted." (Hebrews 2:18).

He can certainly empathize with human suffering because He Himself has struggled as a human. And, not only able to understand, He will also help us. Because, in addition to being true man, He is also true God, the Almighty God.

There is a prophecy regarding Lord Jesus related to His role as Wonderful Counselor in the Old Testament:
"The Lord GOD has given me the tongue of a disciple, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him who is weary. He wakens morning by morning, He wakens my ear to hear as a disciple." (Isaiah 50:4).

The words of the Lord Jesus strengthen those who are weary. His words also provide hope and encouragement. He is so sensitive to the wounded that His words have the power to heal. His Word truly provides hope, forgiveness, and grace. This is what the Bible declares about Jesus' ministry as the Wonderful Counselor:
"A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out, but he will faithfully bring forth justice." 
(Isaiah 42:3).

Lord Jesus is full of compassion for the unfortunate and wounded. Sinful humanity, with no hope, is like the bruised reed that He does not break. The Lord still gives hope to them. Jesus' heart is full of gentleness. He truly loves sinful humanity.
"When Jesus saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." (Matthew 9:36).

Human life in sin is like scattered, abandoned, and wounded sheep. Lord Jesus wants to restore them. His coming is not for the righteous, but for sinners. He came not for the healthy, but for the sick. There is a beautiful and touching story in the Bible about this.

One day, while Jesus was in the temple, the crowds came to Him, and He began to teach them. At that time, the teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought to Jesus Christ a woman caught in adultery. The Bible records that their purpose in bringing the woman was to test Jesus. They said, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?" This woman was being judged by the crowd. She could do nothing but submit. She was full of shame, guilt, and profound sadness. Her spirit was crushed. But what did Jesus do? He calmly faced the people who intended to bring down the woman. He just stooped down and wrote on the ground, as if He did not hear their question. When they kept on questioning Him, He straightened up and said to them:

"Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her." Then he stooped down again and wrote on the ground. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus declared, "Then neither do I condemn you. Go now and leave your life of sin." (John 8:2-11).

The Word of God declares that the Lord Jesus defended the sinful woman in front of the crowd that judged her. Lord Jesus forgave and did not condemn this sinful woman. God's heart is so gentle and filled with compassion towards the repentant, broken sinner's soul. This woman's life could be restored and changed because she received forgiveness from Lord Jesus. Then, who can judge the one whom He has forgiven? God no longer judges the sinner because judgment for sin has been laid on Jesus Christ at the cross.

The coming of Lord Jesus into this world is to bring good news, to free sinners, and to care for the brokenhearted. He is the Wonderful Counselor who heals the human soul. By His wounds, we are healed. The message He brought when He came into this world is "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near!" (Matthew 4:17). The Lord wants to reign over all our lives. He wants to be enthroned in your life and mine. And, the way into the Kingdom of God can only be through repentance.
Lord Jesus longs to help souls troubled by sin. Indeed, He can save them because He is the Great Shepherd who loves His people.

In Psalm 23, the Bible teaches that Jehovah God is a good shepherd.
"The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters; He refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for His name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me." (Psalm 23:1-6).

LORD (Jehovah) is the name of God used in the context of the Covenant with His people. God promises to care for His people and reveals Himself to be full of love, compassion, patience, loyalty, and forgiveness (Exodus 34:6-7). The covenant God is a God who relates closely to His people.

The relationship between a shepherd and sheep is a beautiful metaphor for the relationship between the covenant God and His people. We are familiar with the sheep in Hebrew tradition (Genesis 49:24) and in the ancient Near Eastern tradition. We know David, who before becoming the king of Israel was a shepherd (1 Samuel 16:11). The Psalm 23 hymn that David wrote is certainly an expression of his experience as a shepherd who knows his duties and responsibilities. The literal job of a shepherd is to find grass and calm water for his sheep and to protect the flock from wild animals, robbers, or bad weather. For this, they are usually armed with a staff. Some shepherds also skillfully use a sling. In addition, shepherds also seek and bring back lost sheep, and act as guides, caretakers, and protectors. The ideal shepherd in the Old Testament is one who is strong, self-sacrificing, and selfless. On the other hand, the characteristics of sheep are animals that easily get lost, cannot defend themselves, are weak, have difficulty finding their way home, but can distinguish their shepherd's voice. These characteristics depict our condition as humans. That's why the Bible often describes God as a Shepherd who shows direction and gathers His sheep.

The LORD (Jehovah) is a God who, besides being communally related, also relates individually to His people. The relationship between God and His people is very close. He relates to me. The Lord is my Provider, Caretaker, Protector, and Guide. He cares, watches over, and guards me. And, as believers, we can all experience and feel the same thing.

In light of the New Testament, it turns out that the Shepherd referred to in Psalm 23 is the person of Lord Jesus Himself. Jesus affirmed this by saying:
"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep; the hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away— and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father— and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen; I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd." (John 10:11-16).

Jesus is the Wonderful Counselor who is full of compassion for unfortunate humans. He wants to help them. Therefore, Jesus invites sinful people to come to Him so that they may repent and be forgiven. "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28--30).

With the assurance He has given, those suffering from depression who are struggling can come to Jesus Christ, the Wonderful Counselor and Great Shepherd, to receive relief from Him.

The Most Important Thing in This Life

The most important thing in this life
Is to exalt the name of Jesus
The most important thing in this life
Is to glorify His name
Chorus:
Hallelujah, hallelujah…
I want to love Jesus
Hallelujah, hallelujah…
I want to love Jesus.
(A popular hymn, taken from various sources)