Being a parent isn’t easy, is it? So many decisions! Where to live? How to protect our children? What to do about discipline? Which School?
Everything would be perfect if only God would tell us what to do, right?
Well, four times Joseph received dreams directly from God. Where did it take his little family?
Birth in a dirty stable, refugee status in Egypt and a hard life in out-of-the-way Nazareth!
Not exactly places where one would expect to find a family who is trading on inside information. Heavenly information at that!
A temporary guardian of the Son of God might reasonably expect better.
Surely an antiseptic birthing room in Jerusalem General, a royal baby shower in the Temple Courts and then an all-expense-paid move into permanent quarters at the Royal Suite in Herod Arms at High Court.
Not even close.
Matthew is just getting started, but makes one thing clear from the very beginning. The life of The Guest from Heaven isn’t going to turn out like anyone expects.
We know things will get worse for Jesus. Much worse! But not before the Teacher opens a treasure of Inside Information to guide our lives!
Don’t you just love this story! It is ours.
Oftentimes we ignore the true messages of God because they are not what WE want them to be. We think that God will never give us something substandard. But that is why God moves in a mysterious way. He always does what is best for us even though it may inconvenience our precious lives. We must keep our eyes and ears open to hear the true voice of God.
ReplyDeleteBuzz
Good thoughts, Buzz! "We must keep our eyes and ears open to hear the true voice of God." Is something many don't think about? Have we really conditioned ourselves to "hear" God or to be "led" by the Spirit? And how can we tell it's the Lord or our own desires, or worse?
ReplyDeleteAn angel of the Lord appeared in a dream (vs. 19) and then Joseph is warned by God in a dream again (vs. 22.) In between those times, Joseph fears Archelaus who is reigning in Judea. Now, was that “fear” Joseph was experiencing a nudge from God? The Spirit's guidance? Or a random feeling? If God works through His Spirit to guide us, how can we be sure that what we are feeling and experiencing is from God and not either our own desires or fears or other emotions the enemy is trying to use to sway us? Here’s the key, God confirms Joseph’s fears as being valid by warning him in a dream.
It is hard to tell sometimes if what we are experiencing is something from God or from another source. But if we listen close, and we remember that God won’t go against His Word, we can usually tell the difference. The more we spend time with Him, the more we will truly be able to hear Him clearly (as Paul would say, “Not that I have already attained this!")