Considering These Things
Daily Devotion for Advent 2019 | Saturday, December 21
And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream … .
Matthew 1:19-20a
There are many times when I wish God would speak to me from on high. Just open the heavens, shout (or whisper) a little guidance. Or send me an angel—or a letter, or a text message, you know, anything would be good. Because I just don’t know what to do.
But of course, God usually doesn’t do that. Angels are few and far between in my life, and (I’m guessing) in yours as well. Instead, we’re left to do what Joseph did—lie awake, “considering these things” with the best wisdom we have available to us. We have to figure out what to do.
But the good news is that we do not have to “consider these things” on our own! Most of us are painfully aware of the limits of our own wisdom. But we have a better resource to rely on, what Paul calls “Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:24b).
James says this to us as well: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him” (James 1:5). We can ask for the help we need. We can ask about anything—even a situation as seemingly messed up as Joseph’s, where he thought his future wife had cheated on him. God will not judge us for being in that situation. He will not say, “See, if you had listened to Me, you wouldn’t need to ask for help!”
Jesus is not that kind of person. He listens to us when we are in trouble and cry out. He gives us the Holy Spirit’s help to make decisions, even the terribly tough ones. After all, He knows what our lives are like. Isn’t He the One who became a human being like us, to suffer, die, and rise for our sakes?
Lord, when I am in trouble, help me to cry out to You for help. You always hear me. Thank You. Amen.
Reflect & Discuss
- How do you think Joseph felt when he found out about Mary’s pregnancy?
- How do you feel when you just don’t know what to do? How do you handle it?
- When has God helped you make a tough decision?
Brought to you in partnership with Lutheran Hour Ministries – lhm.org/advent
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CALL HIS NAME JESUS Advent Devotions 2019
Foretold by the prophets and announced by angels, Jesus’ birth is the fulfillment of divine promises. The events of Christmas have God’s fingerprints all over them. At just the right time, He brought His Son into this world to redeem us. In Call His Name Jesus, we see how God is ever-present in our lives—so much so that His Son became one of us to bring us back to Himself.
Lutheran Hour Ministries (LHM) is a Christian outreach ministry supporting churches worldwide in its mission of Bringing Christ to the Nations—and the Nations to the Church.