God's Guidance

Read: Matthew 1:18-25

An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid." --- Matthew 1:20

The Bible In One Year:
2 Peter 1-3

The Christmas story contains a surprising glimpse into the way God guides those who trust in Him. When the Lord was about to turn the lives of Mary and Joseph upside down, He revealed His plans to them at different times and in different ways.

Mary received advance notice from the angel Gabriel that she would conceive the Son of God by the power of the Holy Spirit [Luke 1:30-35].

But Joseph, her fiance, seems to have received no word from God at that time. Later, when he learned of Mary's pregnancy and pondered how to end their engagement without publicly disgracing her, "an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, 'Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit'" [Matthew 1:20].

Such is the mystery of God's guidance. Mary was told beforehand and Joseph had to struggle with what must have seemed a crushing blow. But no matter when God's word came to them, Mary and Joseph both faithfully obeyed.

We cannot predict all of what the Lord wants us to do nor how He will direct our lives, but we can be confident that He will guid us. And, like Mary and Joseph, we must be ready to follow His leading. --- David McCasland

God holds the future in His hands
With grace sufficient day by day,
Through good or ill He gently leads,
If we but let Him have His way. --- Rohrs

YOU DON'T NEED TO KNOW WHERE YOU'RE GOING IF YOU LET GOD DO THE LEADING.