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A Receptive Heart
Joseph was a righteous man who simply did what was right. He was also a man of character that was brought about by reflection and deep thought. Matthew tells us that Joseph was thinking deeply about his situation with Mary when an angel appeared to him in a dream.
Put yourself in Joseph’s shoes for a moment—you find your betrothed with child three months into your betrothal period, and you know your options from the law. Several other thoughts surely came to mind. What about the shame and humiliation this would bring to my family? What will happen to Mary? What will happen to the child? What will happen to my reputation? My livelihood? These are big questions with big consequences.
Notice though what Joseph does: he thinks, he contemplates, he reflects, he processes, he gets quiet before the Lord. The Scriptures seem to say that he “slept on the problem.” He does not first react to the news—he first reflects on the news.
One of the struggles we all seem to have during the Christmas season is the incredible pace of everyday life. It seems as if the holidays add tenfold to what we have to get done, with less time in which to do it. The convicting question could be asked, “Do we ever make time to be still before the Lord? To ask Him what He would like us to be about this season?”
As Joseph was still and quiet two things occurred:
- God spoke to him about the situation he was facing.
- Joseph heard an answer from God to his situation.
Imagine that—God answered and Joseph heard. Perhaps we should take a page from Joseph’s book and spend more time seeking God and His direction than dictating to God what direction we will take.
The first thing Joseph did to prepare for the coming of Jesus was to be a man with a righteous heart—to do the right thing. The second thing he did was to get quiet before the Lord in order to receive God’s direction—to have a receptive heart. People of godly character have the right heart to do the right thing and to receive the right word from the Lord.
What about you this Christmas? Are you prepared to hear from the Lord?
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About this Plan
How will you prepare to celebrate the birth of the Savior this year? Many people have traditions such as listening to Christmas music, sending cards, decorating a tree, or reading the Christmas story. During this Advent devotion, we'll be looking at 5 different responses from people who were present for the coming of Jesus and we'll look at how they prepared for His arrival. We'll now look at Joseph’s response.
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We would like to thank Mark Rae, in partnership with El Centro Network for providing this plan. For more information, please visit: http://www.gsot.edu or http://www.elcentronetwork.com
