Counsel & Might
The Seven Spirits of God (Part 5)
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 11:1–2 (NIV)
Our Inheritance in the Spirit
We have been talking about our inheritance as God’s children. It is the Father’s pleasure to give us the kingdom—to give us his Spirit flowing within us. Jesus taught this plainly. The Seven Spirits of God are a biblical picture of the fullness of the Spirit: the many-sided beauty of who God is and what he does flowing through his people.
These are not merely attributes we admire from a distance. They are dimensions of God’s own life shared with us as his image-bearers. Wisdom is meant to flow through the branch of your life. Understanding is meant to shape the way you see people and the world. And now we come to another pair: Counsel and Might.
Counsel and Might Flowing Together
The Spirit of Counsel can be understood as divine direction while the Spirit of Might is divine power. The two always belong together. Before we go further, though, we need to remember something essential: all of this flows through rest.The Spirit rested upon Jesus, and the life of the Spirit flows most clearly through hearts that learn to abide rather than strive.
Counsel is simply guidance. Direction. The good wisdom of God applied to life. Might is power—divine strength, God’s ability released into human weakness. Whenever someone acts on God’s counsel, power is released. If the Spirit prompts you to pray for someone and you step out and do it, power is released. Sometimes the counsel seems small or even strange. Sometimes it feels completely outside the box. But when heaven’s direction is obeyed, heaven’s strength accompanies it.
Stepping Into Obedience Releases Power
I remember a moment once when I felt prompted to step out and dance during worship. It sounds small, almost foolish. Yet in that act of obedience there was a release of freedom and joy that affected others around me. Several others testified about the shift in the atmosphere that came during worship. It was a clear example for me of counsel and might were working together.
Another time, I felt the Lord directing me to give away a certain amount of money. It stretched me and felt rather risky. Yet I followed through in faith, and within a few weeks Kelly received a new job opportunity that nearly tripled her income. There was power released in following God’s counsel toward generosity.
This is why listening for the Lord becomes addictive in the best possible way. Once you begin seeing what happens when you lean into his voice, you want more. You begin paying attention to dreams, nudges, impressions, scriptures that suddenly light up, recurring themes, small promptings in prayer. I often write things down in the notes app on my phone first thing in the morning. But I have also learned something important: it is easy to collect words from God without ever stepping into them.
Power is released when we move.
Leaning Into the Word
Sometimes a prophetic word simply calls us to trust and wait. But many times there are small steps we can take even before the full picture appears.
For example, if you receive a word about starting a school, perhaps you cannot yet see the building, the finances, or the people. But you can begin writing curriculum. You can begin praying over neighborhoods. You can begin researching property. You can lean into the word.
If you believe God has called you to preach, perhaps you begin by leading a small group. If you sense a burden for the hurting, perhaps you volunteer somewhere before the larger vision unfolds. As we step into the little counsel we have, more often comes.
And it is important to understand this: God will frequently counsel you toward things that are impossible. Heal the sick. Forgive your enemies. Start something you cannot afford. Love someone difficult. Step into a dream larger than your current strength.
That is why counsel always needs might. The counsel of God leads us beyond our natural ability so that the power of God can meet us there.
Wonderful Counselor and Mighty God
This is who Jesus himself is. Two chapters before Isaiah’s vision of the Seven Spirits, another prophecy is given: “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God.”
Notice how those names stand together. Wonderful Counselor. Mighty God. He possesses both the direction and the power necessary to accomplish the will of heaven. He is not merely a strategist who lacks strength, nor raw power without wisdom. In him, counsel and might exist in perfect union.
I have seen this personally in moments of prayer ministry. There have been times during teaching or worship when I suddenly sensed pain in a particular area of someone’s body—a right knee, lower back pain, something specific. And as that word was shared, healing came. First came counsel: the prompting of the Spirit. Then came might: the release of God’s power.
The Friendly Counsel of God
One of the most beautiful descriptions of this reality comes from the book of Job. We often think of Job only through the lens of suffering, but the season of his trial was actually a relatively small portion of a long and extraordinarily blessed life. Reflecting on those years, Job says something remarkable: “…the friendly counsel of God over my tent” (Job 29:4 NKJV).
What a phrase—the friendly counsel of God! Job understood God as a friend. Not a distant ruler reluctantly tolerating him, but a companion who lovingly guided his life. A good friend wants your flourishing. A good friend gives advice because they care about your future. Even difficult counsel, when it comes from love, is meant for your good. The guidance of God always leads toward life.
When Counsel Shapes History
Sometimes that guidance stretches us. Sometimes it dismantles our pride or redirects our plans. But even difficult counsel, if followed, ultimately leads into blessing because it flows from the heart of a loving Father.
Proverbs says, “If you solicit good advice, then your plans will succeed. So don’t charge into battle without wisdom, for wars are won by skillful strategy” (Proverbs 20:18 TPT). The word translated strategy there can also be understood as counsel. Battles are won by counsel.
David understood this deeply. He consistently sought the strategy of heaven before going into battle. And nowhere is this more dramatically illustrated than during one of the darkest seasons of his life. His own son, Absalom, rose up against him. There may be few pains greater than watching your own child attempt to destroy everything you have built. Absalom not only sought David’s throne; he threatened the entire covenant line through which the Messiah would one day come.
During this crisis, David had two primary counselors. One was Ahithophel, a man renowned for astonishingly accurate counsel. Scripture presents his advice as so precise that it seemed almost as though one were consulting the very word of God. When people followed Ahithophel’s counsel, victories happened. Power followed his guidance.
The other counselor was Hushai, who remained loyal to David. Hushai pretended to side with Absalom in order to disrupt Ahithophel’s strategy. When Ahithophel advised Absalom to attack David immediately while he and his men were weary and vulnerable, Hushai intervened. He persuaded Absalom to wait, arguing that David was too dangerous to attack hastily. It was intentionally bad advice. And because Absalom listened to the wrong counsel, David survived.
History itself turned on which counsel was obeyed. Had Absalom followed Ahithophel’s plan, David’s kingdom likely would have ended that very night. Solomon may never have lived to reign. The messianic line would have been threatened. The future of the world hinged upon counsel. Humanity is always living under competing voices, competing wisdoms, competing visions of reality. Following God’s counsel truly matters.
The Friendly Path of Blessing
Job later described his life as though his paths were washed with butter—an image of ease, favor, and overflowing blessing. Why? Because the counsel of God rested upon him. This is part of our inheritance too.
God is your friend.
He is not withholding wisdom from you.
Through Christ, heaven itself has been opened to you. He delights in guiding your life. And when his counsel is obeyed, power follows.
Planning, Execution, and the Body
There is another layer here worth noticing. Counsel and might relate to planning and execution. Some people naturally carry vision, strategy, and direction. Others excel at building, implementing, and carrying things into reality. The Spirit distributes gifts across the body in beautiful diversity because we are meant to need one another.
Some are especially prophetic in their wiring. They discern direction from heaven. Others carry apostolic strength to establish, build, and execute. The prophetic often operates strongly through counsel. The apostolic often operates strongly through might. One hears the strategy. The other helps bring it into tangible expression. And both are needed.
The church desperately needs the fullness of these gifts functioning together again—not competing, not isolated, but integrated through love.
Love as the Highest Aim
But there is still a deeper layer beneath all of this. As we have seen throughout this journey into the Seven Spirits, these are not isolated virtues. Together they form a way of life—a spiraling path of righteousness that ultimately reveals Jesus himself.
Previously we explored wisdom and understanding. Wisdom answers the question: What is life supposed to look like? And the answer is love, perfectly embodied in Christ. Understanding answers the question: Why do we live this way? Because we begin seeing people as God sees them. We recognize their value, dignity, and beauty.
Now counsel answers another question: How do we actually live this out? Counsel is love in action. What does love look like in practice? How do we embody heaven on earth? This is where everything comes together.
Job—the same man who spoke of the friendly counsel of God—described his life this way: “Because I delivered the poor who cried for help, and the orphan who had no helper… I was eyes to the blind and feet to the lame. I was a father to the needy…” (Job 29:12–16).
How beautiful is that? This is wisdom made tangible. Love is not merely a concept. Counsel gives love form. It shows us how to embody the heart of God in real situations, among real people, with real needs.
Yes, God cares about guiding your work, your finances, your ministry, your family. He delights in helping you succeed. But beneath all of those things lies the deeper purpose of life itself.
You do not need a prophetic word to know the highest wisdom. The Word has already revealed it. The counsel of heaven is to care for widows and orphans. To become family for the lonely. To defend the vulnerable. To strengthen the weak. To love people extravagantly. This is the counsel of God.
Christ the Wisdom and Power of God
And this brings us back to Paul’s declaration in Corinthians: “We preach Christ crucified… Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:23–24). Christ crucified is the wisdom of God. The cross reveals what ultimate wisdom truly is: self-giving love.
But Paul also says Christ crucified is the power of God. That changes everything.
The world defines power through control, influence, intimidation, money, titles, and dominance. It celebrates the ability to bend others to your will. But heaven does not call that power. Much of what the world calls power is actually fear masquerading in false armor. True power is revealed in the crucified Christ.
The greatest display of might in history was not Rome flexing its military strength. It was Jesus laying down his life in love. Counsel and might are therefore inseparable. Counsel is love embodied. Might is heaven released through that love. Whenever someone lays down their life in obedience to God’s love, true power appears.
This is why Paul urged believers to pursue spiritual gifts, yet insisted above all else that love remain the aim. The gifts are important. Prophecy is too. Revelation, miracles…all vital. But they are not the destination. Love is.
Why do you want success? Why do you seek guidance? Why do you want influence, provision, wisdom, or breakthrough? Hopefully it is not because of a need for comfort, status, or security. Hopefully, it’s because you want to become a blessing. Because you want your life to radiate light. Because you want people to encounter the heart of God through the way you live.
That is the fruit of true counsel and might.
Family, Love, and the Spirit’s Direction
God is your friend. He wants to guide you. He wants you to step out courageously into the words and promptings he gives you. He wants miracles, provision, and breakthrough to flow through your life. But all of it centers on love.
At the deepest level, the Spirit of Counsel and Might is about the family of God learning to care for one another—especially those who feel abandoned, forgotten, lonely, weak, or unsupported. God is a Father. And the Spirit is leading his children to love like family.
That is where counsel leads. And that is where true might is found.
From here, the journey moves toward the final two Spirits: the Spirit of Knowledge and the Fear of the Lord.
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