Matthew 1:18-25
18This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 19Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
20But after he had considered this, 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. 21She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,[c] because he will save his people from their sins.”
22All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23“The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”[d]—which means, “God with us.”
24When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
When we left the last bible study, Mary had just spent 3 months with Zechariah and Elizabeth and was now on her way home. But now, I pick up the story from the eyes of the man who she was betrothed, Joseph.
Joseph was caught off guard by all this. The young woman that he was betrothed be be married to was pregnant. Now remember from the first installment, that betrothal meant that you were basically married. It wasn’t an engagement period, it was the real deal. What was he to do? She was pregnant, so she couldn’t be a virgin….she was an adulteress! But being the kind and righteous man that he was, he was going to quietly divorce her without making a spectacle of the whole thing. He cared for her and didn’t want to make a public disgrace of her, so surely this whole thing could be done hush hush, right? Until……
Here comes the angel of the Lord again. In a dream, the angel reveals to Joseph God’s plan. Mary was a virgin. She was having God’s son, who would save the world. His name will be Jesus. Do not be afraid to take her as your wife. The angel even quotes the prophet Isaiah. Remember, Joseph was a righteous man, and he knew the laws and he knew of the prophets. It was coming true. Right in his own home. God’s word was being fulfilled right in his own home!
So he took her into his home to be his wife. He didn’t have any doubts. He had great faith in the Lord through all of this as well. And to be sure the prophecy was fulfilled, she remained a virgin until the birth of her son.
A lot of times, we take matters into our own hands. Especially those of us (like me) who are type A personalities who believe that no one can do a better job than I can. I thought for all the years that I was a refuser, that I could handle it. I could figure out the way to make it right…to make it better. I could solve this big problem that we had. It wasn’t until I gave it up to God and His plan that was so much better that my marriage was saved. I couldn’t do it without His help. See, Joseph though he could fix the whole situation, too, but when God stepped in and said, “Trust me. I have a Plan”, he yielded to the One he had great faith in. Dear one, we need to all yield to God. Is there something that you just can’t let go of? That you think you have the answer to, but it just isn’t working out the way you want it to? Step aside and take a look at God’s plan. In the end, it is so much better than anything you can plan.
Lord, thank you for your Master Plan for our lives. Help us to see when we need to yield to Your will. Help us to take the step of faith to let you take the reigns and take us on a wonderful ride of our lives. Lord, thank you for sending your Son. Your Plan would not be complete without Him. Thank you, Lord for the free gift of salvation that you offer us. Lord, I pray that if there is someone reading this who does not know your Son, that they would ask more about Him and learn to trust in Him. Thank you, Lord, for saving a lowly sinner like me. Amen.
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Christian Nymphos 
G’morning Spicynutmeg,
Great article once again. You’ve got some stuff to say girl 😉
Fellow type A personality so I hear you about the having to do everything as I am the ONE to do it all. Almost killed myself through the years taking on far too much of the everything in my family.
This summer saw me literally chilling on a whole bunch of stuff. Know what, the house has not fallen down and the dishwasher is still loaded and does its thing as I have even…miracles of miracles… kept the laundry up to date. Whahoo…. Still can’t figure out the missing sock syndrome which plagues the men in my family.. Drives them nuts.
This has meant tremendous freedom in my marriage and most importantly, my marriage bed. I have gone from a disabled refuser in heart and mind (although I always met my man’s needs in body) to the most sexually charged woman. Its fantastic.
Ciao,.