Scripture

When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded, and took Mary as his wife.

Observation

Joseph and Mary are engaged, but Mary becomes pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. Joseph is a good man, and he does not want to shame Mary publicly, so he decides to break the engagement quietly.

An angel appears to Joseph in a dream. The angel tells Joseph that Mary’s pregnancy is by the Holy Spirit. The baby is to be named Jesus as He will save His people from their sins.

So Joseph does what the angel told him to do, and he takes Mary as his wife.

Application

It must have been a huge shock and disappointment to Joseph to find out that his wife- to- be had been unfaithful to him. Then an angel appeared to tell him that all was not as it seemed.

The simple faith of both Mary and Joseph is instructive to us. They both just humbly obey God, regardless of the social norms and the possible consequences. They must have had many questions, but they moved forward in obedience.

When God calls us to do something, He has the consequences in hand. He will make it all work out according to His plans.

When we say “No” to God, we are effectively saying that we know better than He does. We know how to handle our lives and don’t need any directions from the Creator of the Universe.

Faith is the admission that we don’t have our lives perfectly ordered.

Faith is recognising that there may be a higher and better way that we have never considered.

Faith is saying “Yes” to God.

Prayer

Thank you Lord for the example of Mary and Joseph. Please help me to always say “Yes” to you. Amen.