I love being reminded of the sweet simplicity and purity in looking to Our Lord in surrender… the simplicity of obedience. There are just so so so so so many distractions in our world; all of which keep our heads spinning, our hearts guessing, and our hands and minds occupied. Then I think of Jesus, Who He is; those that have seen Jesus, have seen the Father. Jesus came down, Immanuel, God with us, showing us how to live and look to the Father and how to obey Him – giving us reassurance and guidance and a beautiful example of the Love of Our Creator.

In the first two chapters in Matthew, an angel of the Lord has four separate requests for Joseph… and Joseph immediately obeys each time.

The first act of obedience, in my opinion, is what paves the way for the next three acts. In Joseph’s first act of obedience, he gives up his life as he knew it, Joseph lets go of self and agrees to marry a woman, Mary, already expecting a baby, supposedly the Messiah! and does this knowing both he and Mary would become outcasts in every worldly meaning of the word. He gives up his idea of what life was supposed to look like for God’s plan… In this giving up of self, Joseph plays a huge part in God’s plan, helping keep Mary and Jesus safe in a broken world – acting as a source of strength and reassurance for both Mary and Jesus. I’m not saying God couldn’t have kept Mary and Jesus safe without Joseph – but to me, Joseph was that relational reassurance and strength – rooted in God, listening for God, that we all long for.

As I meditate on Matthew chapters 1 & 2 and Joseph’s obedience, I am pulled on both sides: I pray I offer reassurance of God’s strength and Love to those who are tired and unsure – but I also pray God continues to send me reassurance and people who will point me back to Him when I am tired and confused… and remind me of the simplicity of obedience… of the divine beauty of looking to the Lord and trusting His ways and obeying His Words.

Matthew 2:13-14 …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.” That night Joseph left for Egypt with the child and Mary, his mother.