Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.- Matthew 1:19-20 (NIV)
Today’s verse is about Joseph. Can you imagine what it must have been like to be Joseph? He was to be married to Mary. Then before they came together, Mary is found to be pregnant. Joseph is merciful, and decides to divorce Mary quietly.
What amazing character Joseph must have had. I don’t think if I thought that my future spouse wasn’t faithful to me that I’d try to do what’s best for them. I’d probably be telling everyone I met that I’d been cheated on. And yet, that’s not what Joseph did. He kept it quiet. Joseph showed Mary mercy and tried to do what was best for her.
As he’s trying to do this, Joseph has a dream. The dream tells him to go ahead and take Mary as his wife.
Once again, can you imagine being Joseph? Something that never had happened before in the history of the world was happening to his future spouse. Joseph had to believe what God said and act on it. Even though it seemed impossible, Joseph believed God.
Then he quickly obeyed God. He didn’t try to figure it all out in his head. He didn’t try to understand how this could happen. Instead, he obeyed God and took Mary to be his wife.
What an amazing man. That he would be willing to follow God’s leading so fully, even when it didn’t make any sense.
So how about you? Has God asked you to do something that doesn’t seem to make sense? Has he asked you to step out into something unfamiliar? If so, you’re not alone. When God asks people to do things for Him, the things He asks them to do don’t always make a lot of sense to us. And that’s where trust in God comes in. If you’re to do something big for God, you’ve got to trust Him over what might make sense to you or what you can see and understand.
So today, challenge yourself to step out into what God is asking you to do. Don’t be afraid, don’t worry about whether you understand it fully. Instead, keep stepping out and know that God will come through for you!
