mighty God

"For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." 
Isaiah 9:6

One of the definitions in the Merriam-Webster dictionary defines 'mighty' as "great or imposing in size or extent; extraordinary".
In preparation for today, I was reading to find a story of Jesus that reflected His might. 
It dawned on me that when I think of 'might', I think of cowering strength and power; a quality we see clearly through strength in Samson, the army of Joshua, in David fighting Goliath, and in Moses parting the Red Sea, but where was a time we could clearly see it in Jesus? 
When I found that definition, it dawned on me that Jesus' might was an extraordinary force.
Meek yet bold, confident yet welcoming and passionate yet shepherd-like: Jesus possessed a certain character that is hard to press into with one definition. 
So where is the promise of a Mighty God? 
I see this promise fulfilled in the story of the woman who touched Jesus' cloak.
Luke 8 tells us the story of when Jesus makes His way to heal the synagogue leader's daughter that was sick and dying. As He and His disciples along with a large crowd begin to go towards the house of Jairus, Jesus feels a woman touch Him. In the story, a woman who had suffered from bleeding for years commits to the promise that the power of the Lord, even through His cloak, is enough to save her from her suffering. 
There are two reasons I see this story as a testament of a Mighty God. 
First, I see this as a testament to Jesus' mighty healing power. Although we see Jesus as a friend and teacher, the moments that we witness Him as a healer making the blind see, the deaf to hear, and the paralyzed walk: that is a sign of a Mighty God.  While it's so easy for us to see a Mighty God in the stories of the Old Testament, let us be reminded that the same might exists in the New Testament, and the same might exists today.
Second, I see this as an invitation to believe in the mighty and extraordinary powers of the promised Savior. Like Peter says in this story, the disciples and Jesus were walking in a compact and pressed environment; one we would probably run from in a pandemic-struck world. Jesus knew, however, that someone touched Him and not only that, He knew that person needed healing. 
In a point in time where we've all needed healing the most, the promise of a Mighty God rings bittersweet and more special than it ever has.
It shows what we all have been longing for and what everyone in this world has been missing: it shows that we are seen. 
I love describing the Mighty God as extraordinary. 
It reminds us that in moments that seem so grand, there is attention to the mundane.
It reminds me that I am seen when it feels like I'm just another body in the crowd.  
It reminds me that the Mighty God knows me. Me. And you.  
As we move forward through this season of Advent, may we remind ourselves that the promises that are laid out for us are revealing new things to us every day. 
Before, the hope I sought after in a Mighty God was revealed in Old Testament stories that couldn't reach me in a way that I was seen. 
Today, the hope I see in a Mighty God is in the extraordinary presence of Jesus.
A presence that is here not just to heal, but to save.  
I see a Savior that is extraordinarily specific and intimate in His ministry, a Savior that will notice me touching His cloak in the middle of a crowd, a Savior that heals by faith. 
This morning, I remind myself to be as faithful as the woman in the crowd and to place all of my hope and trust in the Mighty God. 
May I remind myself that the Mighty God is a God that works extraordinarily. 
Thank You God for fulfilling Your promise of a Mighty God unto us.