How Joseph Are You?

“They said, ‘Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know?” John 6:42

 

Mary’s husband, Joseph, has always captivated me.

 

 

 

He gets lost in the story.

 

He seems insignificant.

 

His account is minimal.

 

Yet…

 

His impact was huge.

 

He was important.

 

He was favored by God.

 

 

I want to be a Joseph.

 

In the book of Matthew we learn of Joseph, who is deeply in love with Mary.  They get engaged, but soon after, Mary drops a bomb on him that she is pregnant. Being the great guy he was, Joseph takes Mary into his arms and tells her he will support her in every way.  NOT!!!  No Hollywood-tear-jerker-kind of moment there.

 

In fact, Joseph is distraught. I mean, really distraught. He goes into serious thought time. So much so that he devises a plan to secretly end their engagement. Matthew tells us:

“Because Joseph was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.”  Matthew 1:19 NIV

A righteous man?

 

Divorce?

 

What kind of guy dumps the mother of God?

 

Not my kind of guy.

 

Until…

 

“The Lord appeared unto him in a dream saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.  And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.”  “Then Joseph raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife.” Matthew 1:20-21,24 KJV

 

Ah, ok.  Well that clears it up.  Scorned man. Has a dream. God appears. Details explained. He does as he’s told.  It’s all good.

 

Man, that is so how I want life to be.

 

Or should I say, my problem solving to be;  Everything fixed after a really cool visit by an Angel of God in my dream.

 

Any other takers on that?

 

And that is why I am enamored by Joseph.

 

Think about it, the man almost missed out on the biggest event this world ever knew only because he was being…well…human.

 

Let’s be honest, how many of us would have done something similar?

 

He didn’t have the whole story.  He didn’t have all the details.  He didn’t know Christmas was waiting.

 

What he had was a crisis, right in front of him.  He reacted.

 

Don’t we do the same?

 

So many times we get life thrown at us in ways that don’t add up.  And our reaction?—get out of it quickly and with the least amount of turmoil possible.

 

Joseph tried.

 

His righteousness was foretold by what he was going to do, based on everything around him—his predicament, his standards, his pride, his perception, his feelings. He needed to act to save face for it all.

 

Doesn’t that sound a little like how life goes today?

 

Do you see why I like Joseph’s story?  It’s as real today as it was then.

 

But the kicker is this:

“Then he rose from sleep and did as the angel had told him.”

 

Done.  Story over.  Current problem solved. On to the next.

 

God showed him the way.  God gave him direction.  God was with him.

 

What else did Joseph need?

 

What else do we need?

 

What was given to Joseph then, is still given to us today.

 

God’s Word is still true and alive and relevant.  He is still showing the way when we can’t see the path. He is still giving direction when all seems lost.  He is still here when we feel alone. He still provides when all we see is the crisis.

 

It wasn’t just for one guy in Nazareth with a pregnant girlfriend.

 

Joseph’s story is brief.  His life is barely referenced.  His details are few.

 

But…

 

His impact was great.

 

He mattered.

 

He was important.

 

And so are you.    Don’t doubt for a second that God has a plan for your life, too.  His way is in place and you are an intricate part of it.  You are being used mightily for His world. You are not lost in the story. You are not insignificant.

 

But in case you are taking the road of early Joseph right about now wondering, “but I can’t,…because of,…all I am is…”, Joseph taught us one more lesson that resembles so many of our lives.

 

He wasn’t famous.

 

He didn’t rule nations.

 

He didn’t do miracles.

 

Few knew who he was.

 

And in  his lifetime, he didn’t get to see what he was used for.

 

Oh, but he was used.

 

A simple man.

 

A simple craftsman.

 

A simple step-dad.

 

Who simply raised a Carpenter,

 

…who saved the world.

 

All because he got up one particular day and did as the angel had told him.

 

How Joseph are you?

 

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4 Replies

  1. Pam

    Beautiful reminder, Renae, of how God can use each one of us, no matter how insignificant we feel, if we are just obedient moment by moment. Like Joseph, we might never see the fruit of our obedience on this earth, but we can be sure there will be fruit! Such a comfort to know! Merry Christmas to you and your family!

    1. Thank you Pam. And you are so right “we can be sure there will be fruit!” Hard sometimes to remember that, but there will be. Merry Christmas to you and yours too. Thank you for stopping by and chatting.

  2. Karen Uribe

    This was awesome! I’m not very Joseph but there’s hope 🙂 That’s the good news, Merry Christmas!!!!

    1. Oh Karen, I bet you’re more Joseph than you think! That’s the beauty of it, he uses those of us who don’t think we are much to be used. But you are so right, there is ALWAYS Hope! Merry Christmas to you too!

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