DEVOTION-DECEMBER 2013

HOW JOSEPH SAVED CHRISTMAS

When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife.But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus. Matthew 1:24-25

Not once, not twice, but three times an Angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. The first time was to instruct him to marry Mary. The second was to tell him to take his wife and Jesus to Egypt, and the third brought instructions to take his family home to Israel. Think of the faith Joseph must have had to hear and trust God.

Joseph not only had to recognize his dreams were from God and not from a bad fig, but he had to act on his instructions. He had to overcome social prejudices and heckling for marrying a pregnant girl. He had to have the courage to leave his country to travel to an enemy land across the desert (with an infant) and then finally to discern that God, and not his own heart, was actually calling him back home.

What if Joseph had decided to have Mary put away? Would Jesus have been born in Bethlehem to fulfill prophecy? If Joseph had stayed in Bethlehem, would Herod’s soldiers have found Jesus and killed Him? What if Joseph had come home early, or not at all? God was looking not only for a virgin to bear His Son, but also for a godly man who wasn’t afraid to follow the Lord’s dictates and directions. Joseph had yielded his will to God’s. He was a man of faith.

When God calls you into service, will you listen? Joseph did and he helped raise the Son of God. He was just an ordinary man who got very little credit for his faith, but don’t you think he was richly rewarded in Heaven? Can we be like Joseph? Can we do what God asks, and be His man in the right place at the right time? Strive to be like Joseph.

Prayer: Lord, cause me to be a person with a singular focus – Your will. May I be “prepared in season and out of season” (2 Timothy 4:2, NIV).