Jesus’ unlikely birth surprised everyone.
18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
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 fulfil 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 1:18-25)
Joseph’s reaction here reminds me a lot of Abraham, way back in Genesis. When God tells him that Sarah will have a son in her old age, Abraham doesn’t have faith. He just can’t see how it’s possible, even though he hears the words directly from God.
After the words from the angel, Joseph believes straight away. It’s almost like the faith of God’s people has been building up, generation after generation, promise after promise, and when it matters the most Joseph has the wisdom to be obedient.
We probably don’t usually get messages from angels in our dreams, but we do get a pretty clear message from God’s Word. Unlike Joseph and Abraham, we’re being called to have faith in something that’s already happened and been witnessed, not some mysterious event in the future.
Head: If you think about other stories from the Bible, what kind of reactions do God’s promises get?
Heart: Do you struggle to have faith in some of God’s promises?
Hands: How can you be obedient to God, even though it seems impossible?
Prayer: Dear Lord, we thank you for keeping your promises. Even when things seem impossible, you can still do incredible things. You prove your faithfulness to your people. We pray that we will hear your promises and take them to heart. We pray that you will give us the faith we need to follow you. In your name, Amen.
A song to listen to: Angels from the Realms of Glory https://open.spotify.com/track/2B4hyhxZrMmtAzgyp90MyH
Zoe Harland
This Grow Daily was originally posted as part of a previous Christmas series in 2016. During the School Holidays we take the opportunity to look back at the best of Grow Dailys over the years.
