Do you ever think about Joseph this time of year? There is a lot of talk about Mary and the baby. I often think of Joseph.
What about him? What was he feeling and thinking?
He didn’t want to embarrass Mary and make matters worse than they already were – her being pregnant and not married – so he was willing to just to “divorce her quietly” (Matthew 1:19)
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. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
I wonder if Joseph ever thought, “What have I gotten myself into?”
I have learned that yielding my will to the Lord’s will and his plans proves to be better than when I try to orchestrate what I think is best. I believe Joseph learned that too.
It doesn’t mean there will not be tears. Most likely there will be.
It doesn’t mean there will not be sorrow. There will probably be some of that too.
It doesn’t mean there won’t be pain. But it is often in the painful times that I grow the most.
Joseph was Jesus’ earthly father and I believe he loved Jesus as much as any parent loves their child. But can you imagine what he felt? He knew this child was going to be special. He knew he would save his people.
I still believe it is possible that Joseph was scared. But he did what he knew he had to do…scared or not.
I pray that have I have the courage to do what the Lord is asking of me, even when I am scared.
How about you?
This is one of my favorite Christmas songs. If you can’t see the video, please click here.
Yep. This is how I want to be too: “But he did what he knew he had to do…scared or not.” Because the “scared” thing just doesn’t seem to go away. ha. So either I do it scared or not at all. And I want to be obedient, so doing it scared is how it has to be. Great post, Mary.