Each of us play a part in God’s plan.
But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of His heart through all generations. Psalm 33:11 (NIV)
God has relied on His people all throughout history, in each generation, to take part in the master plan of God to draw all humanity to Himself.
We know Mary played one of the major roles in God’s plan of bringing the ‘Saviour of the World’, Jesus, to earth by carrying and birthing Him, watching over Him as He grew up and caring for Him as a mother would. However, there was someone else who also played a significant role in Jesus formative years and that was Joseph.
This story could have played out very differently had Joseph gone ahead with his own plans to divorce Mary after hearing that his wife was pregnant, but not of his seed. Although he loved Mary, this unexpected news was obviously something he had not signed up for, so he began planning his exit strategy.
Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. Matthew 1:19 (NIV)
While he was contemplating how he was going to break the news to Mary, an angel (most probably Gabriel) came to speak to him to reassure Joseph that Mary was saying yes to a greater call than she ever expected would be asked of her. A call that would come with responsibility, but also judgement from those of the day who would never understand, but a call that was to fulfill the countless prophesies declared long ago. Now the angel was asking the same of Joseph. ‘Are you willing to put aside your plans for the great plans God has for you?’
v 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.’ Matthew 1:20 (NIV)
V 24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. Matthew 1:24 (NIV)
Joseph had a choice as we all do, to chose obedience over comfort. He chose God’s plan over his own and trusted God with the journey both he and Mary were about to take.
Mary and Joseph were chosen to play a part in God’s master plan and they both said yes to His master plan. They said yes to the call on their life, and even yes to the challenges they would face because they also knew that who God calls, He also equips.
You and I are called to this same master plan. To play our part in history, and no part is greater than another. Saying yes to taking part in His bigger plan means we get to play a significant role in history. What we do in obedience to Christ now, is going to have a ripple effect for generations.
You doing your part, me doing mine to create this great tapestry that God is weaving for eternity. Sometimes it won’t be comfortable, in fact often it will comes with a stretching and discomfort, but the rewards are great. Some of these rewards we will reap in this lifetime, others not until we reach eternity, but I can say from experience, saying yes to God’s plan is much more fulfilling than working our own plans.
God put an invitation out to Mary and Joseph and they said yes. God is putting that same invitation out to you and I. Let our default answer be yes. There would be nothing worse than sitting on the grandstand of life watching someone else experiencing the call that we were meant to fulfill.
Let’s choose obedience to His call and let us all play the part God has laid out for us.
Amen and Merry Christmas.
Deb
DESTINED FOR PURPOSE 