Obedience Among All The Stress
You know what’s stressful!?!
Standing in line in Target for 3 hours on Black Friday to save $50 on a Christmas gift. Working 40 hours a week and still having to count change to pay the bills. Planning a wedding (in a foreign country). Going back to school at age 40. The guy who has been tailing you for the past 2 miles. Being unemployed for almost 2 years. Teaching 98 hormonal 8th graders.
But you know what tops it off? Finding out your soulmate is pregnant, and you’re not the father!
Now THAT is some seriously stressful stuff!
That’s Springer material!
Can you imagine how Joseph must have felt when he found out that his bride-to-be, Mary, was pregnant?
I bet when he confronted her about the issue she swore up and down, left and right that she hadn’t done ANYTHING with ANYONE!!!
I bet Joseph wanted DNA test done on baby Jesus. I bet Joseph questioned all of his “boys” hardcore.
I bet Joseph asked Mary to take a lie-detector test.I bet Joseph sought pre-marital counseling, if not an attorney.
And when Mary said she was pregnant with the Son of God, I bet Joseph demanded Mary take a psych evaluation.
Talk about the stress!!!
But check out Matthew chapter 1, verse 20 and 21.
In it we read that Joseph was planning to dump Mary, but then he was confronted by an angel of the Lord. And the angel told him that the child Mary was carrying was actually the chosen Son of God in Heaven.
Still, can you imagine the stress!!! And the fact it’s God’s child couldn’t have made the situation any less stressful!!
Joseph and Mary must have truly been remarkable parents! To be able to withstand the stress, the people who whisper behind their back, and the temptation to not trust God and His ultimate plan. WOW! That’s incredible.
They were both so open, trusting, and willing to be used. And apparently so close, in relationship to God, that when the Holy Spirit spoke, they were able to recognize the originator of the message AND be obedient.
This type of obedience among all the stress is amazing to me and something I desire. But in order to enounter the Holy Spirit, and express righteous obedience, we have to align our thinking and our hearts with our Him.
Not the easiest of tasks in our stressful, busy, and constantly changing world.
Jesus,
Teach me to listen for your whisper and teach me to act in complete obedience.
