“She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21, ESV)
There is our plan and there is God’s plan. Joseph learned that Mary his wife was pregnant. It was not his child. That was one thing he knew for certain. He had a plan. He was a good man. He was going to divorce her quietly. He did not want to put her to shame.
It seemed the right thing to do, but God had a better plan. An angel appears to Joseph. The angel tells Joseph not to be afraid to take Mary as his wife. Not everything is as it appears. The child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
The angel entrusts Joseph with a responsibility. He is the name the child Jesus. The name comes from the Hebrew “Yeshua” or Joshua. It means “Yahweh is salvation.” By taking Mary as his wife, he assumes the responsibility as this child’s adoptive earthly Father.
Joseph had one thing in mind, but God something greater in store. Joseph had in mind to salvage a broken mess. God had in mind to bring salvation to the earth. God can take what we consider broken and use it for great good. The reality was that there was nothing broken in this situation. It was Joseph’s perception that things were not as they were supposed to be. But God knew what he was doing. The angel helped Joseph see this “bad” thing was the greatest thing in all of history.
Today you may face a situation that may seem like it is supposed to be. But know that God is greater your situation. He has a plan and a purpose that we do not always see. We may not always have the benefit of an angel to bring clarity, but we have the gift of faith. Faith is to trust God. God knows what he is doing even when we don’t understand. Even in the most difficult of circumstances God has a greater purpose.
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