Obedience When Your Dreams Come Crashing Down

For Joseph, obedience took courage and faith.

Joseph had been planning and looking forward to a joyous occasion,

his wedding.

Suddenly, in one day his world was turned upside down.

Mary, his bride to be, pulled him aside perhaps as they are walking in the evening;

or sitting enjoying each other's company;

Maybe, he noticed the somewhat visible signs of pregnancy after her

return from visiting Elizabeth.

However it happened, his dreams crashed and burned like dead leaves.

His dreams and hopes of having a nice quiet home and being a "good Jewish man" were gone.

Joseph had a problem.

If Mary were pregnant, suspect number one would be him.

People would assume that he was the father.

But... Joseph had choices, options.  He could publically divorce her.

This would get Mary stoned but his reputation is saved, and he knew the child was not his.

Or, he could divorce her privately allowing her to live

and he could still salvage most of his reputation among his friends and relatives.

This was a possibility since he knew he was innocent.

The other option was to be married right away and act like it was all part of the plan.

I imagine Joseph spent hours and maybe days thinking about the problem.

perhaps he wavered, not liking any of the choices.

Perhaps he thought of Mary and her character, finding it hard, if not impossible

to believe that she could ever be unfaithful.

"I want to believe her," he thought with fear and sadness, "but how can I?"

Then he thought of his own standing in the community.

The only way to "land on his feet" was to call off the wedding.

"I have to look out for myself," he considered.

The more Joseph considered his options, the surer he became

that a private divorce was the only reasonable solution to the problem.

As Joseph came to his decision, an angel sent from God interrupted his musings.

The angel instructed Joseph to go ahead with the wedding.

Joseph knew that this decision would not come with an

"easy button."

However, Joseph, without hesitation did as the angel had commanded.

No more questions or holding back.

He gave up his dreams his hopes and desires and exchanged them for what God wanted.

Like Mary, Joseph chose obedience over public opinion.

In fact, they both had to become blind and deaf to what others thought about them.

The only assurance he had was that the child was not the result

of "loose living" but rather the result of the Holy Spirit.

Joseph in faith and courage chose to be obedient to God

rather than choose the easy way, the way that would clear his name but not his heart.

Sometimes, obedience takes courage and faith that God's plans are always right.