Joseph – When Things Don’t Go as Planned

¹⁸ This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit.  ¹⁹ Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.  ²⁰ As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit.  ²¹ And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”  ²² All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet:  ²³ “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’  ²⁴ When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife.  ²⁵ But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus. (Matthew 1:18-25)

¹ At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. ³ All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. ⁴ And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. ⁵ He took with him Mary, to whom he was engaged, who was now expecting a child. ⁶ And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. ⁷ She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them. (Luke 2:1, 3-7)

When things don’t go as I planned:

1. Trust that God can things that I can’t see right now

¹¹ Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

2. Trust that God’s motivation is always .

²⁸ And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. (Romans 8:28)

3. Look at God’s in my past. (and the past of others)

³⁷ The Lord who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine! (1 Samuel 17:37)

4. Know that I don’t have to understand the plan to that God has a purpose.

²¹ You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail. (Proverbs 19:21)

Additional Notes