“We recently sat down with Micah Williams and asked her a few questions about her new book, Christ the Wonderful Counselor. Micah has written CHCP's Inner Healing curriculum, and is a facilitator for Inner Healing 3 and Inner Healing 4. In addition, she is a worship leader, pastor, speaker, and writer. She and her husband Ben have started a ministry called Life Ministries, Int'l, and they pastor Convergence Church in Mechanicsburg, PA. For more information, go to the Releasing Life website. Enjoy the following interview with her about her most recent book.”

Micah, the title of your book, Christ the Wonderful Counselor, is so intriguing. Can you tell us a bit more about the meaning behind it?

In Isaiah 9:6, Jesus is prophesied about, and one of the names He is referred to is Wonderful Counselor. As I looked at how Jesus did inner healing, this name rose to the surface as my husband Ben and I were brainstorming about the main emphasis of what I was writing.

So, what exactly is “inner healing”?

Here's an excerpt from chapter 2 of my book, "In the New Testament, when Jesus speaks about saving people, the word in the original text was the word sozo. This word has typically been watered down to mean saved, but it holds a deeper connotation. This word has a broader scope, including salvation from sin and any other type of suffering, deliverance from the effects of the enemy, preservation, and healing from anything less than God’s desire for us in body, soul, and spirit. It means to be set free to walk in wholeness."

How did the idea for this book come about?

Here's an excerpt from chapter 1: "The transformation Jesus initiated in His three and a half years with the disciples is astounding. It laid the groundwork for them to change the world even after He had left the earth. I wanted to look at the ways Jesus specifically interacted with His disciples, as well as those they ministered to together. I have to believe that Jesus was intentional, and did not waste a moment." Therefore, I needed to seek that out, and this book came about.

What were some of your favorite discoveries as you wrote this book?

When I was writing this book, I presented excerpts weekly to a small group of 12 people from our church. We came together, discussing the reading from the week, and expecting Holy Spirit to highlight a person or persons that He wanted to take deeper in a certain area. Through those eight weeks, people were able to forgive people that had deeply wounded them, bring restoration to their grieving heart, find a voice to what they had been going through, receive their first prophetic word, and so on. It was a beautiful thing. I loved writing with a community mindset, even though it was really a vulnerable thing for me to do.

Give us one practical takeaway point from the book.

Here's a bit on what I wrote about growing in maturity, "There is always a risk that we might, in our journey, get caught up in excuses for our own life situation, hindering us from truly capturing what Jesus is saying to us. We might say, ‘If I didn’t have to deal with what I have to deal with, then I could be as effective as Jesus was.’   This type of thinking keeps us from understanding the truth of what Jesus did. We have glimpses of His first thirty years on Earth, but the details are a mystery. Luke 2:52 says, ‘And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, in favor with God and men.’ We can conclude that His time before public ministry was invested in building relationship with God and men. That word “stature” is related to the maturity or personal responsibility that comes over time both physically and mentally, and the word “favor” is a kindness or highlighting that comes as an affectionate regard. Jesus was beyond reproach and beyond the scrutiny of man because He was so connected to the Father.   It is important not to overlook the season that we are in, while comparing our effectiveness to His at the end of His life. Even Jesus was patient through the first thirty years of His life on Earth and accomplished what could be summed up in only one verse. The story that one verse tells supports the amazing results we see in the chapters upon chapters of documented miracles and transformation that follow.  We must be careful not to jump ahead to the “exciting” life, without resting in the necessary, highly fruitful investment that leads to growing in wisdom, stature, and favor. Perhaps what we are “dealing with” is part of that journey, without which our lives will be like a vapor that appears for a little while and vanishes away without impacting those around us (James 4:14). Let’s not despise the day of small beginnings, but rather ask the Lord how we can increase in wisdom and maturity, and grow in favor with Him and those around us."