Joseph and his dream (Matthew 1:19-25)

Joseph was a pretty important character in the Christmas story. In fact, of all the people in the whole Bible who had dreams, Joseph had the most - four dreams! And thank God he did, or Jesus may never have been born.

Joseph was a "just man". That is, he desired to obey the Law of God. So when he found out that Mary, his wife, was pregnant - and not by him - he was in quite a quandary. He was very kind, and had no desire to make this thing public. If he did, the Law demanded that Mary be stoned. So he made up his mind to put her away secretly, through divorcement.

Now the Bible says, "While he pondered these things..." (v. 20). While he was considering which of these two options to take, an angel appeared to him in a dream. In essence, the angel said, "Joseph, there is a third option, and here it is, and this is why."

Have you ever been in a quandary about what to do? And you feel like you have exhausted all your options? And none of them look all that good? Well, God still has ideas that you have never had. We can't see down the road and around the bend, but God sits up high above the earth and can see everything. So why not ask Him? And wait for His answer.

Satan was trying his best to stop Jesus from coming into the earth. He put pressure on Joseph to do the right thing. And there were two right things to choose from, according to the Law. But aren't you glad that God is more involved in grace than law? When it looks impossible, and Satan is trying to get the upper hand in your life, God in His grace comes with a totally unheard-of option. An option, that when revealed, makes perfect sense.

And when Joseph obeyed and took God's option, Jesus was born - the Savior of the World! You see, with God, there is no Plan B. Plan A always works, if we will obey God. Take a lesson from Joseph.
Start looking to God for Plan A, His plan, the one that always works. Be willing to wait until you relax and quit fidgeting (like, take a nap, dude!). God is never late, He is always on time!

Blessings this Christmastime!