Patti Burris

Matthew 1:20-25

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.” ²² All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ²³ “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). ²⁴ When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. ²⁵ But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

Matthew 2:13-14

¹³ When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” ¹⁴ So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt,

Matthew 2:19-22

¹⁹ After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt ²⁰ and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.” ²¹ So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. ²² But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee,

I have been doing a study of Matthew this month. In this Advent season, I wanted to immerse myself in the birth and life of Jesus. What caught my attention was the obedience of Joseph. The Bible tells us about other people who were obedient to God, but what strikes me about Joseph, is that he NEVER questioned the command. Joseph obeyed God without complaint or argument. He NEVER sighed and uttered a doubtful, “But God, WHY?”

Unfortunately, I can’t say the same about myself. I can imagine God hesitating in giving me any command, because my response is always the same, “BUT GOD! THAT WILL TAKE ME OUT OF MY COMFORT ZONE! DO I HAVE TO?” I kick and scream until the moment passes. If the command seems relatively easy, I may obey after some serious analyzing of the situation. Some of the harder commands I have ignored and hope God doesn’t notice.

CONFESSION:

I now wonder what I have missed out on by not immediately obeying God’s every command. How different would my life be had I obeyed? Do I regret not living a life of obedience like Joseph did? The short answer is Yes! I have sabotaged my own life and I have not brought any glory to God by my disobedience. Has someone suffered because I refused to listen? What blessings have I or someone else missed out on because of my defiance? Looking at it from this perspective, I am deeply sorry I have allowed my fear and unwillingness to keep me from partnering with God in His will on this earth. It is my loss and a deep regret.

SO NOW WHAT?

I use that regret to push myself to do better in the future. If I know that God is commanding me to do something, I need to do it. I need to jump and trust God for the outcome. I need to let go of my need to analyze everything, because there will always be a reason NOT to do something. God did ask the prophets to do some CRAZY things! No good comes from living in regret. Commit to do better and trust God for guidance.

Father God,

I am asking forgiveness for not always obeying when you give me a command. It is not my place to question you. I need to obey you immediately and trust you with the outcome. I am so sorry that I have let you down and have possibly hurt others in my disobedience. I am making a commitment to make obedience a way of life in the future. I will jump first and trust you always. Help me in this, Lord. Give me a heart of obedience. I pray this in Jesus name.

Amen