John and Lisa's Blue Skies Blog – Soaring with God

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the Holy Spirit. Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly. Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her….”
(Matthew 1:18-20)

Don’t you wish that when you’re very confused, troubled, and about to make the wrong decision, an angel would appear to set you straight? Joseph was in a difficult situation, and apparently, he’d worked out a solution to his problem without consulting anyone, not even God. Yet God came to his assistance. (Maybe Joseph HAD prayed: “O God, come to my assistance. O Lord, make haste to help me!” – Psalm 70:1)

After the angel’s dream-visit, Joseph knew without a doubt what he had to do, but surely, carrying out the command was no easy matter. I wonder how he kept the community from stoning Mary to death for adultery. Mary and Joseph had been told the truth through Gabriel’s visit, but the rest of the community had no such assurance. God’s power, alone, kept Mary and Joseph and Jesus safe.

I think one (of the many) lessons for us is that God will not allow us to make catastrophic errors. He will intervene in some way, send us some kind of message, to show us the right path. The questions are: Will we be fully aware to receive the message? Will we have the courage to follow the Lord’s guidance?