Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.” — Matthew 1:18-20 ESV
This time last year, reflecting on the birth of Jesus, I looked at the story from Elizabeth’s point of view (you can read the blogs here—Elizabeth: Silence Ended, parts 1 to 3).
However, this year I found myself reflecting on Joseph – Jesus’ earthly father and his part in the beautiful story. He might have played a short role in Jesus’ life, but it was definitely a very significant one.
Imagine how Joseph might have felt when he saw Mary after she got back from visiting her cousin, Elizabeth. Observing her, he might have thought, has she grown fat or is that a baby bump? If she’s pregnant, it’s definitely not mine because we haven’t been together yet! Then who else has she been playing around with? Did he confront her? Or did he just observe her and make up his mind on what his next move was going to be?
But then he slept and on waking that plan changed. While he slept, God showed Joseph His plan and without any questions asked, Joseph joined Mary’s adventure of bringing up the Messiah, “Saviour of the World”.
Would I have trusted a dream to do something I didn’t want to do? In this day and age, we would analyse the reasons behind the dream and maybe ignore it. But Joseph knew his God and understood how He communicated with him because God spoke to him on other occasions and without hesitation, Joseph acted obediently.
Once called, Joseph didn’t think about his reputation or worry about what people would say, nor did he think about tradition. He was focused on the instructions given to him by God. As Christians, we are called to be different from the world and there’s no need to worry about it. Apostle Paul understood this and said, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes…” Romans 1:16 (NKJV)
Do you know how God speaks to you? And will you be willing to act without hesitation? Will you be willing to obey His voice in 2025, even if you don’t feel comfortable with what He is asking you to do?
Happy New Year! Stay blessed,
LaraLex
Hills and Valleys 