"This Wasn't the Plan"

Four hundred years of silence.  The first book, the first chapter of the gospels, Matthew begins with genealogy.  Your identity.  Who you are.  Who Joseph was in the lineage of Jesus.  He was chosen.  He was loved.  He belonged to God. Just like you do.  God had a divine purpose.  God had a sovereign plan.  Just like He does for you. 

The first subject, the first conversation, the first spoken words, the first problem as we open the Word after 400 years, was concerning Joseph’s fear.  His life had not gone as planned.  He was a rule follower.  Mary was pregnant. His world blew up.  This wasn’t supposed to happen.  This wasn’t the plan. There was supposed to be a big wedding celebration with all of their friends and family celebrating with them.  Now everything had changed.  She could be killed by stoning according to Jewish law.  She would be publicly humiliated at any rate.  He didn’t want to cause her disgrace.  He wasn’t sure what to do.  He was going to quietly divorce her.  Not cause a stir.  He loved her.  He needed to follow the law.  He was afraid.  Only what he could figure out.  He was afraid what would happen if people found out.  He was afraid what would happen if he married her.  The words around town.  The whispers.  The gossip.  Her reputation.  He only knew one option.  I’m sure the fear was overwhelming. 

God knew that we would deal with fear on a daily basis.  That is the first thing He addressed. Fear of the unknown, fear of doing the wrong thing. Fear would be something that would plague us and paralyze us and cause us to make rash decisions.  Fear would change our lives, from free to bondage.  Fear would become an epidemic.  We have all dealt with fear.  God knew that we would.  That is why He addresses it in the first chapter of the first book after 400 years of silence.

Fear and faith both focus on the unknown.  Fear causes negative emotions and expects the worst.  Fear causes worry, anxiety, paralyzes you.  Faith encourages hope and overcomes fear.  Fear is what makes trust necessary.  Fear has work to do in your life.  It brings you to your knees and that is where God wants you.  Fear makes you choose.  Live in fear or activate your faith.  Faith will always triumph over fear.  That doesn’t mean it’s easy.  Faith is where your freedom is.  When you trust God, His peace is activated in your life.  You trust Him one choice at a time, one circumstance at a time.  Our job on this earth is to trust God.  That is what glorifies Him.  Jesus was always amazed in the New Testament by people’s faith.  Have faith in Him, not the outcome you want, not in yourself and not in your faith.  Have faith in Him, His character, His Word, His promises.

So the story continues.  The angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him to do something that would require a lot of faith.  It was a big risk.  It was out of his comfort zone.  That is where your blessings always lie.  Out of your comfort zone.  In the Faith Zone.   Trusting God is out of your comfort zone.  Faith requires you to believe in something you can’t see.  Your comfort zone wants you to stay where you can see and hear and live by your feelings.  

The message was “Do not fear.”  It’s a command – do not fear.  Not a suggestion.  “Don’t be afraid to take Mary 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.”  It wasn’t logical. It was actually very radical.  It didn’t make sense, but trusting God and believing and hoping in what God says usually don’t make sense.  We can’t lose when we trust God.  However we can lose everything when we live in fear.  Let fear do it’s work in your life and point you to your heavenly Father.  He has the answer.  Obey what He says.  That is where your freedom is.  God will use your faith to impact a lot of other people.  The world needs to see faith.  Faith is always active.  That is where your abundant life is.  That is where faith wins.


Love Him.                                                                                Love you dearly!

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