Corona Devo 650

How are we at obedience?

There is something (sinful) about our nature that fights it. The world preaches a "make it on your own" and "call your own shots" mantra, and there is an advertised prestige to being "self-made".

But the reality is, we are not self-made.

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. (16) …all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.  ~Psalm 139:13, 16

We are "made" by the Lord our God and He has a good and beneficial plan for our lives...but will we follow it? Will we seek His plan and the days He has written in His book for us? Will we choose to obey Him?

Joseph (Mary's husband and the earthly "dad" of Jesus) gives us some excellent life-examples of obeying God, and we might not have a "Christmas story" if Joseph hadn't obeyed the Lord whole-heartedly and immediately.

First, he was engaged to Mary and she "became" pregnant. We know through Scripture how this "came to be", but Joseph was the guy living out a daily reality and social stigma of a wife who was carrying someone else's baby, and no one could possibly understand/comprehend Who. But Joseph obeyed anyway:

Mary was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place...she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. (19) Joseph...was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.

(20) As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit...

(24) When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife.  ~Luke 1:18-20, 24

Joseph was obedient, even when he didn't fully understand, because He trusted God. In Joseph's day, and in ours--this will be a bold way of living. Contrary to most. But our obedience to God's direction will allow God's purposes to be fulfilled in our lives and in the lives of others.

Joseph's "obedience" to God was not a one-and-done event, and if we are living for the Lord, ours won't be either.  

After the wise men were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up! Flee to Egypt with the child and his mother,” the angel said. “Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”

(14) That night Joseph left for Egypt with the child and Mary, his mother, (15) and they stayed there until Herod’s death.  ~Matthew 2:13-15

We can't say that God gave Joseph "easy" assignments or comfortable ones. He told Joseph to "Get up!" and "Flee" with Mary and Jesus in the middle of the night. And Joseph obeyed.

God's directives and guidance are often uncomfortable and sometimes even shocking to a watching world. But God does not call us to live for the world or pleasing them. He calls us to live (and be obedient) to Him, and we can trust Him for the results.

Perhaps the Lord is directing us to "Get up!" and "Flee" from something/someone today. If He has given us a directive...obey it.

That night Joseph left... ~Matthew 2:14

What if Joseph had gone back to sleep after the angel had visited him?

The sad truth (for me) is I know perfectly well, because when I review my life, I can recall times when God said "Now" and I said "Not yet". The Lord said "Get up!" or "Flee", and I stayed right where I was at.

Joseph is a great example of immediate obedience.

I (and we) are examples of God's grace and mercy, and that He doesn't give up on us (ever), even when we are disobedient to Him.

God instructed Joseph to stay, and be Mary's husband and the earthly "dad" to Jesus.

Then God told Joseph to go and take Mary and Joseph to safety in Egypt.

And twice more (that we know of), God visited Joseph and told him to return to Israel and then Nazareth. And Joseph obeyed. 

When Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt. (20) “Get up!” the angel said. “Take the child and his mother back to the land of Israel, because those who were trying to kill the child are dead.”

(21) So Joseph got up and returned to the land of Israel with Jesus and his mother. (22) ...Then, after being warned in a dream, he left for the region of Galilee. (23) So the family went and lived in a town called Nazareth. ~Matthew 2:19-23

To our stubborn or prideful sides, it may seem as if Joseph had "little say" in his life. He merely obeyed God's commands and directives and they ended up defining his life path and life story and others.

Yes.

What if we stay/go/return to obeying what God is saying to us today?

We are missing the joy of living-a-life in service to Jesus if we view obeying God as "having little say" in our life. But rather, if we will merely obey God's commands and directives...they will end up defining our life path and life story of others we touch.

Joseph's obedience is inspiring, and because God knows our life-operating-instructions best, we can trust Him with the results.

Today, let's listen for what God is saying...and stay/go/return to Him.

Blessings, 

sarah

https://sarahsundy04.blogspot.com