READING: 1 Kings 19-21, 2 Chronicles 17, Psalm 129; Matthew 1
There are times when all of us feel insignificant in the plan of God. Others speak from the largest platforms. Some sell a great number of books. Others have more Twitter followers and blog subscribers. For some, just mention their name and you know who they are. The rest of us serve, but a comparative few know our names. Our sinfulness might lead us to want more recognition, but it seldom comes.
I think of this reality as I read the story of Jesus’ birth. Obviously, Jesus is the center of this story. He’s the Messiah prophesied centuries before His coming, the One come to save His people from their sins. Mary will continue to be a significant part of the story. Not so, though, with Joseph.
Joseph’s presence in the story doesn’t last long, but we see him in this chapter as a man who just trusts God. It surely must have been difficult to believe the words, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what has been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins” (Matt 1:20-21). Still, Joseph married Mary. Still, he obeyed God in naming his son, Jesus (Matt 1:25). Had the hymn been written in Joseph’s day, he could have with integrity sung, “Trust and obey, for there’s no other way.”
Indeed, Joseph’s obedience in the midst of an almost implausible scenario is a reminder for us to do the same. No matter what God calls us to do – even if we seem insignificant, and even if what He calls us to do is hard to believe – we must trust and obey. There really is no other way.
PRAYER: “Help me, God, to trust You and obey You without exception.”
TOMORROW’S READING: 1 Kings 22, 2 Chronicles 18, Matthew 2