Isaiah 11:1-2, reads: “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.” The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the LORD—"Isaiah give us tremendous insight into the secret of peace in spite of our circumstances or the affairs of our lives. In these two verses, Isaiah gives us several characteristics of the coming "shoot...from the stump of Jesse". Obviously, the prophecy begins with a prophetic promise of the coming Messiah. And he gives a really interesting description of the coming Messiah.
The Holy Spirt's role in the Christmas story is the anointing that He brings to the Messiah. According to Isaiah, the Spirit will anoint the Messiah with the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, and the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. What is he saying?
I believe that when we understand the attributes and character of Jesus, we begin to think differently, which in turn, causes us to live differently. When we reflect and meditate on the character of Christ, our thought processes are transformed. And when we begin to think differently, our own character and behavior changes as well.
For most of us, when we experience difficult or trying circumstances, our thoughts focuses on the difficulties, the pain, and the struggles. We wonder why we are experiencing the event or maybe if the unfairness of the experiences.
But when we trust the wisdom and understanding of the Messiah, we are confident that His wisdom is greater that ours and He knows what He is doing. When we trust that He is able to counsel us during those events, we can also trust that He has the might to accomplish good, even in the midst of our pain (Romans 8:28).
So the first secret that Isaiah shares with us concerning our experiencing peace in spite of our difficulties is to focus on, elevate, and celebrate the character of Christ.
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