The Men of ChristmasНамуна

Where Dreams May Lead

During the COVID shutdowns, a new phenomenon cropped up: COVID dreams—dreams or nightmares that were unusually vivid or strange.

Perhaps you experienced them.

Despite the long-lifted lockdowns, “I had the strangest dreams last night” is still a common morning sentiment at our house.

But I’ve never awoken from a dream, no matter how intense or connected to real life, and made a life-altering decision based on my brain activity during my sleep cycles.

Maybe those dreams are different. Joseph had one that changed the course of his life.

In the nativity story, after Joseph had decided to do what he could to protect Mary, he was visited by an angel…in his dreams…instructing him to stay with Mary. To be a father to the child in her womb, to endure with Mary all the ramifications and repercussions that would come.

It’s easy to read the account and assume that the decision was natural and easy, and maybe it was. Joseph was given some incredible information in the dream. His dream confirmed what Mary had likely told him. When he awoke, he did as he was instructed. He took Mary home as his wife.

As impressive as it was that Joseph originally wanted to protect Mary as much as he could by divorcing her quietly, this scene tells us even more about the kind of man Joseph was. The instructions in this dream asked Joseph to step into a life-long situation where he and his family would be the subject of questions, speculations, whispers, and ridicule.

Joseph was asked to sacrifice his reputation and perhaps his standing in the community to carry out the will of God.

And he did!

It is important to see this situation for what it is. This was not a bad situation that God worked through. This was a bad situation (humanly speaking) that God created and asked people to walk faithfully through. Possibly alone, no one ever to believe their story of Jesus’ origins. Perhaps they eventually stopped telling the story.

Joseph’s obedience was a defining characteristic of his life, even when it meant struggle.

That is a role model to follow. Men, we need to ask how we stack up against his example.

Prayer: God, it is difficult to accept that sometimes You create a situation that is difficult for us to navigate—that Your will is not just worked out through our bad situations, but that those bad situations may actually be the outworking of Your will. Help me be faithful amid those trials, trusting You for guidance, strength, and patience. Amen.

Reflection: What difficulty in your life might you look at differently, knowing that it may be God’s doing?