“But after he had considered this (divorcing Mary), 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.'”
Matthew 1:20
Have you ever been faced with a big decision and didn’t know what to do? Were you afraid of making the wrong decision because either way, the consequences would be huge?
Joseph was faced with a big decision. Because Mary and Joseph were engaged, what seemed to be Mary’s apparent unfaithfulness carried a severe social stigma. According to Jewish law, he could divorce her or turn her over to authorities to be stoned to death. But he didn’t.
Joseph, desperately wanting to do the right thing, decided to do what seemed most logical ─ “Joseph, her fiancé, was a good man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.” (v. 19 NLT)
Joseph was doing the best he could do. He did what seemed most logical. Yet we see the most logical – is not always God’s path. So in His amazing mercy, God intervened and redirected his steps.
I used to think that God would sit in heaven and shake His head in disappointment every time I made a bad decision. Yet, nothing could be further from the truth. He loves us so much, that if we will just acknowledge Him in every decision, then He’ll make sure we get on the right path. If we miss Him, He will get our attention to redirect us.
Proverbs 3:5-6 says: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.”
How do you submit to Him?
• I look up and say, “Lord, what do I do?”
• I’m on the lookout in my quiet time for a Word from Scripture directing either way.
• I’m looking at common sense logistics (yet not relying completely on what’s logical).
• I’m also looking for peace in my heart.
• Once a decision is made – I lookout for God’s confirmation circumstantially.
• I choose NOT to doubt as this is not faith.
The next time you have a decision to make, remember Joseph. Just as God redirected Joseph, He’ll redirect our path if we’ve made the wrong decision. We just have to be pliable to His new direction…
Additional Reading: James 1:22-25; Hebrews 12:1-2; Galatians 5:25