Click this link to hear an audio version of the below text narrated by SOTH member Jerry Rhinehart:
Matthew 1:20-25 (NIV)
20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). 24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
Have you ever felt that following God might actually cause problems in your life? Mary is miraculously impregnated by God the Holy Spirit and Joseph is supposed to raise this divine child as his own. Throughout this whole story Joseph never speaks or raises an objection; he simply gets up and does “what the angel of the Lord had commanded him”. Faith in Christ and trusting in His salvation does not mean life will be easy or comfortable. It might even seem to cause problems! But Joseph shows that the first step in faith is not fully knowing or understanding what God is doing, but trusting that God’s words of salvation are true. How can Joseph raise Jesus as his own? Because he believes that Jesus is worth it. Take time to pray that God would help you trust that Jesus is worth trusting with your life.