“Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily. But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.” Matthew 1:19–21 When Joseph found out Mary was going to have a baby, his heart must have been broken. All of his hopes and dreams for the future were shattered. What he did not realize at first was that God was using a temporarily painful experience in his life as part of a much greater plan. When the angel appeared to Joseph and told him what was really going on, Joseph immediately responded in obedience and did as he was told. Even though doing what God commanded brought him shame and humiliation, Joseph was willing to do it because of his faith and hope in God. Robert Morgan wrote, “Yes, the Bible does use the word hope. But in the Bible, hope is not synonymous with maybe. Biblical hope refers to sure and certain expectations, which, because they’re still in the future, create in us a sense of anticipation. We don’t always feel that God’s way is right, but His faithfulness doesn’t depend on our vacillating emotions, rather on His unchanging Word. It’s not a matter of how we feel but of what God says.” All of us have days when it seems that everything goes wrong. But as long as we are walking in obedience, we have every reason to hold on to our hope. Today’s Renewal Principle: If we focus on the sovereignty of God in our lives, we find reasons to praise Him even on our darkest days.
Posted on: Sat, 06 Dec 2014 15:29:14 +0000
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