Light of the WorldSample

Picture yourself for a moment settling into a comfortable, oversized chair with a steaming hot cup of coffee as you open a newly purchased book. You leaf through the fresh, clean pages, flicking through the first few chapters without reading a word. You pause briefly on the heading, “Chapter 3,” just long enough to notice you have already flipped almost halfway through the book. You continue perusing toward the end, ignoring chapter 5, skipping chapter 8, and finally landing on the last page. You wrestle with whether or not to read the ending first or go back and proceed step by step to let the story be revealed to you as the author intended.

God, the author of it all, could flip to the end of our stories and tell us how it’ll all end for us here on earth, but He doesn’t. Instead, He starts with Chapter 1 and gradually reveals our lives to us, day by day, as we grow and mature. The Lord did the same with Joseph, revealing each step in His timing and in His way. He didn’t skip to the last page or divulge the whole story at once.

In the previous passages, the angel of the Lord told Joseph to go to Egypt. Now the Lord reveals another step in Joseph’s life. “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.” (NIV)

Each time, the Lord shows Joseph another part of his story, another step to take. Does Joseph say, “I’m not going, Lord, unless you reveal to me what you are doing and why you are doing it?” No, Joseph is faithful. He trusts the Lord with each step, trusting that God will reveal what he needs to know when he needs to know it.

Next, Joseph heeds the warning received in a dream and moves to Nazareth. Again, he isn’t questioning, just trusting. We can also have that same trust and hope in the Lord without knowing our whole story.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” | Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

Questions:
Are you pursuing the Lord in the waiting? Do you trust His plans for your life? Do you believe the Lord has a specific hope and future for you?

Application:
Lord, give me faith like Joseph. You have given me life and written my story. Please help me to be content and useable while waiting for the next chapter to be revealed. I pray that each step I take is in pursuit of You and your will for my life.