Next Stop Joy

“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. 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.’ When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.”
Matthew 1:20-21 & 24

When we last saw Mary she was in the Judean hill country visiting Elizabeth. Elizabeth had confirmed that what the angel had told Mary had indeed taken place. Now Elizabeth had given birth to John and it was time for Mary to head home. Three months had passed and Mary knew that there would be questions, hard questions when she got there.

Everything the angel had said had been true. Elizabeth had her son John in her old age. Mary was now carrying God’s Son in her womb. She had, had peace while with Mary - they understood what it meant to have God work in their lives in impossible ways. I think Mary made the trip home confident that God would protect His child but would she have to have this child alone was a real question. The Scriptures don’t tell us much about Mary’s arrival back home. We don’t know how her parents responded or how her friends reacted to the changes taking place. We do know about Joseph though. Can you imagine how he must have felt? He knew there was no way the child was his. Could he really believe Mary had been unfaithful? Scriptures tell us he was a righteous man and planned to divorce her quietly so has not to publically disgrace her.

Then Joseph also received a visit from an angel who tells him “don’t be afraid of me or of taking Mary as your wife.” The angel would confirm Mary’s story of how the child in her womb came to be. With that visit Joseph got his own dose of peace, so he got up and went to see Mary.

Can you imagine the joy? The man Mary loved - believed her, still loved her and still wanted her as his wife. Oh the joy to know that she would not have to continue this journey alone - Joseph would be by her side and the joy of knowing that God was taking care of things so that His Son would have a good family.

No matter what you are facing - if the Lord has brought you hope, peace won’t be far behind and joy is there around the next bend. You see joy doesn’t depend on your circumstances it’s another of the amazing gifts God has for you and I.

Hope and peace are great traveling companions. Next stop joy!

A Prayer
Father – Thank you for the many amazing gifts you have for us. Thank you for hope and peace. Thank you for the joy comes along on the journey with us even during the difficult bits. May the joy that you give us shine brightly into the world around us and may it draw others to You. In the name of Jesus, who gives us joy – Amen.