Tuesday 22nd December 2015
Today’s exhortation – life study of Joseph
God’s plans for our lives doesn’t follow conventional wisdom and so it’s easy to assume that because things are difficult, it may not be God’s will. However, we’ll see that even though Joseph was called, the path wasn’t necessarily straight forward and obedience to God involves risk-taking. When Joseph decided to quietly divorce Mary, the bible says, “ 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 1:20). The angel’s directive to Joseph, to proceed with his marriage contradicted common sense and required deep trust in God. The path he was called to follow wasn’t “safe,” but it fulfilled God’s plan.
Marrying Mary in the face of her apparent infidelity may’ve brought criticism and ridicule from those around him and even made him the subject of gossip and jokes. But, despite all this, he was still obedient. The Lord says, “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:9). God never said the journey will be easy, but the end, it will be worth it. “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love Him.” (James 1:12). Amen
Francis Hans-Jorie
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