God's Plan

This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah happened. His mother Mary was engaged to marry Joseph. But before they married, he learned that she was expecting a baby. (She was pregnant by the power of the Holy Spirit.) Mary’s husband, Joseph, was a good man. He did not want to cause her public disgrace, so he planned to divorce her secretly.

But after Joseph thought about this, an angel from the Lord came to him in a dream. The angel said, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to accept Mary to be your wife. The baby inside her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son. You will name him Jesus. Give him that name because he will save his people from their sins.”

Matthew 1:18-21 (ERV)

As a father, one of your jobs is to protect and nurture your children from the time they arrive until they can handle things on their own.  Twenty-seven years ago, I became a father for the first time and my “on the job training” started.  Seven years later, my son decided to pray for a little brother because my wife’s mom told him that God answers prayers. Wouldn’t you know it, a second son was born. 

Fast forward another seven years (detecting a pattern?), and my youngest son is told by his older brother to pray to God if he wants a little brother.  This time God showed us he has a sense of humor by honoring my youngest son’s wish for a baby however, we had a beautiful baby girl.  

My wife and I decided we were done having children, and at the seven-year mark of our daughter’s birth, we decided that the last addition of our family would be a loveable 4-legged friend, Caesar.  We often laugh about how we could have been “empty nesters” at an early age if we stopped at one child, but GOD’S PLAN for us was to have three kids and a dog. Or so we thought…  

Matthew 1 introduces two key figures in the life of Jesus: Joseph and Mary.  Joseph was a young up and coming carpenter and Mary was the teenage girl he was set to marry.  However, a bombshell is dropped at their engagement party. Mary is pregnant and Joseph is not the father.  

For most people that would be the end of the story, game over, no marriage.  According to the Law of Moses, if a groom found his bride was pregnant before marriage, he had two options. 

• Option #1: publicly divorce her and bring formal charges punishable by death.  Was GOD’S PLAN for Joseph to kill his bride and her unborn child? 
• Option #2: privately divorce Mary to preserve her life and the unborn child. This option seemed better in Joseph’s eyes, so it must be GOD’S PLAN, right? 

Neither of these options fit. Joseph was given a directive by an angel in a dream to marry Mary and to name the child Jesus.    

God could’ve chosen anyone to raise his child, but he chose Joseph.  Matthew 1:19 described Joseph as a man that was “faithful to the law”.  He didn’t live an extravagant life, and you don’t hear much about the life he led.  However, we know he was a believer and he readily accepted the task of raising another person’s child.  That was GOD’S PLAN for Joseph. What an honor and privilege.  

Now let’s revisit GOD’S PLAN for me and my family.  My youngest child is 5 years away from college, and I will soon be an “empty nester”.  Not so fast, GOD’S PLAN was becoming clear to me.  My wife has a 5-year-old cousin that wasn’t in the best situation. He was in trouble and, without action, we could’ve lost him to a system that isn’t always kind to children.  Fast forward seven months later, and the newest addition to my family is a 5-year-old autistic child that has positively changed my life forever.

As you can see,  with both my personal plan and Joseph’s plan, sometimes, our plans don’t align with GOD’S PLAN. Although we don’t always understand and readily embrace GOD’S PLAN for our lives, it’s the best thing for us and brings us closer to our purpose. It aligns us with him, makes us better, and helps us change lives. In Joseph’s case, his decision to accept GOD’S PLAN gave Jesus the opportunity to save the world.

 

Prayer

Lord thank you for the example of obedience, mercy, love, and kindness you showed me in the life of Joseph, the humble carpenter.  I pray that you help me accept and embrace when things don’t quite go according to my plan.