Joseph Chose To Live In The Presence Of The Almighty God!
- Dr. Teresa Allissa Citro
- Aug 10, 2018
- 6 min read
“When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife. “ Mathew 1: 24
In the story of Jesus’ birth, two things always impressed me: Mary’s quick obedience to do what the Angel said, and Joseph’s attitude towards her which was loving, kind, and compassionate.
I always try to put myself into the shoes of the people in the Bible. When I think about Joseph, I think about what a great man he had to have been, but then God would not have allowed His Son to be raised by just any ordinary father figure.
I can’t help but to think how loving this man was. If any woman ever wanted to know what true and deep love from a man looks like towards the woman he loves; Look no further because Joseph is the man.
The culture wasn’t like it is today. A woman got pregnant outside of marriage, and it was a death sentence, stoned to death. Imagine, an angry crowd throwing stones at her until they killed her. Joseph, obviously, couldn’t bare the thought of the woman he loved to be killed. He was going to quietly break the engagement. Get that? Not going to embarrass her, not going to tell the world she was pregnant with a child that wasn’t his. He was going to protect her even if at that moment he thought she had done the absolute unthinkable. Folks, that real love.
Most impressive to me is his obedience to do the will of God. After the dream, Joseph woke up and did what the angel commanded him to do. Now, to me, that’s a great man. He could have said no. Can you imagine the “talk” of the town. He chose to marry Mary. I can just imagine the gossip. The hurtful, mean-spirited, and judgmental words and looks they both received from people.
A man/woman of great integrity and character doesn't need to defend themselves. This is what we can learn from this story, and this passage. Mary and Joseph were led by God. They didn’t care what Rabbi so and so had to say. They knew, by the angel’s visitation, God had a specific plan to be fulfilled in their lives and even if it was strange, weird, and uncommon to them, their families, the synagogue, and its leaders. They were going to do what God showed them. Joseph was the key player in all of this. At his word and Mary and the Son of God would have been killed.
I have found that in reading the stories in the Bible God rarely does things the conventional way and in the most weirdest, wildest, unexplainable, impossible, bizarre, and unbelievable stories are told and lived by those great people of old.
The truth is we are the people of God, and this means we have those kinds of stories to tell as well. A life totally surrendered to God is a life filled with unbelievable twists and turns, unimaginable and inconceivable, just incomprehensible miraculous events in our lives that leave others in awe.
Notice how I say, “Leave others in awe.” You see, Joseph didn’t ask the opinion of his parents, his uncles, or elders. He didn’t run to his synagogue to ask the permission of the Rabbi to do what he knew God told him to do in that dream by the angel. he didn’t debate it with flesh and blood. He got up and married Mary. Strong man! He knew exactly what he needed to do. He was his own man. Can I say? I really like that, that’s my kind of a guy.
Can we learn from this man? I’m sure in the beginning he was hurt. After all, that’s a pretty unbelievable story. “Joseph, I’m having a baby, and I wasn’t unfaithful to you. God made me pregnant supernaturally.” Can you imagine what went through his mind? “What? How dare you? You have humiliated me? Do you think I’m stupid, too?” I want to see this scene when I am in heaven. Like God play it on your big screen.
I want to emphasize Joseph was a great man. He was strong in character and integrity, a combination that leads to greatness. The greatest strength you can possess is to be humble. Joseph's humility guaranteed him to play the greatest role on planet earth. To be the earthly father of the Son of God. Messiah, Jesus Christ the Savior of the World. As a friend of mine would say, “Can you beat that?” No, no one can beat that!
I’m challenging myself today and you too. Live a life sold out to God and do everything He commands you to do. Can God trust you to do exactly what He commands you to do? Many people want to live extraordinary lives but they didn’t count the cost. This means he might require you to make sacrifices that might cause people to gossip about you and try to destroy your reputation, integrity, and character.
Remember, people can talk all they want. All that matters is that God’s will gets accomplished in your life. Trust me, doing things God’s way will go against everything you think. Don’t try to rationalize God’s thoughts. You can’t. Don’t try to get the opinion of others. Follow God and do it His way.
I outlined just a few character traits of Joseph here, but they’re much more such as his love for God, his heart for God and God's will, and his ability to hear and decipher the voice of God through the Angel.
No, Joseph wasn’t just an ordinary man. He was extraordinary in ALL his ways, and he was with God 24/7 raising God’s Son.
Seriously, imagine what that was like, knowing that little baby, child, teenager, and eventually a man you raised is God incarnate -mind boggling, inconceivable, unbelievable, but very real and very true.
Today, we have a choice too. We can let God do what He needs to do and live lives of incredible destinies, and this might mean people will, “talk,” but the very will of God will be accomplished in your life. In the process, you get to live a life filled of great purposes and achieve greatness for the kingdom of God; Or we can take the "I am afraid road" and have every single plan and purpose in your life defeated, no purpose, no meaning, no blessings, aborting by your choice the very will of God.
Let me be point blank. God for first option. Go after the will of God with all your might. Be strong willed, and don’t be diverted from doing His will no matter how scared you feel. Feelings lie, and feelings are not what is reality. Test those feelings to learn the truth.
Be a Joseph and a Mary! The greatest gift we can give God is the very gift he gave us. Our lives. After all, he gave us his son, and his son gave us his life. So, I ask, “Should we waste our time and energy worrying about what others say about us, and give up our destiny in the process, or strongly, with no ifs or buts do everything God commands us to do?
Dr.Teresa Allissa Citro, Chief Executive Officer, Learning Disabilities Worldwide, Inc. Founder and President, Thread of Hope, Inc.
INSIGHT: In order to be in God's will, we need an unwavering loyalty and servant's heart like Mary, and the humility and faithfulness of Joseph. In both of them, there was prompt obedience, and they did whatever they had to do to please God. Because of their obedience to God, they had the greatest blessing ever asked for; they were answering the call of God on their lives to raise up the KING of kings and the LORD of Lords. Talk about a high calling. Can you imagine if they had said, "Ummmm, no thanks, God, not interested." Because of their devotion to God, because they trusted God with their lives and their future, and because of their OBEDIENCE to what God's calling was on their lives, they were blessed by God.
MEDITATE: "He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" -Micah 6:8
Outside of the Will of God for your life, there is no covering, no protection. When you respond to the calling of God on your life and obey God by carrying out the tasks God has called you to do, there is protection and covering, and God will bless you for your obedience to His call on your life. God has plans specifically designed for you. What is God calling you to do? How have you responded to the calling of God on your life? I encourage you to step out with willingness, faith in Him, and a wholehearted devotion to do what He has commanded you to do.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I thank You for Your grace and mercy, for Your enduring faithfulness. Father, I am sorry for the times I have failed You, breaking Your trust. I commit myself to You to do as You have commanded and to do what You have called me to do. And so with humility, I step into what You have planned for me. Lord, I am putting my trust in You because I know I am doing the tasks You have set before me with the strength You give, not on my own strength. Thank you for equipping me and making me adequate for Your calling on my life. To You be all glory and honor forever. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
Linda A. Knowles
Executive Director
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