What a Privilege
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.”
Matthew 20-21 (NIV)
Can you imagine being told by an angel that your son will save His people from their sins, and that His kingdom will be established and will never have an end?
Joseph and Mary weren't at all naive about what this virgin pregnancy was going to mean for them. They were well aware of what this challenge was going to mean in terms of sacrifice.
We often focus on the obedience that was necessary, the tough nature of this divine assignment, the sacrifice that it required, the interruption of God's plans on Joseph's life, the threat to his personal reputation, and the chatter that would stir regarding his character and his honor.
However, a fresh reading of this text angled my lens on none of these considerations. Instead, I kept thinking to myself, when pondering Joseph's place and purpose in the birth of Jesus, “Joseph, I understand why you accepted the assignment. You never saw it as an interruption. You didn't see it as the unexpected. You didn't view it as the unwanted. You treated it like a privilege.”
What an honor, what a blessing, what a humbling thought that God purposed human redemption and included Joseph in its facilitation.
When I thought about Joseph's immediate response to take Mary home to be his wife, I saw it as quite an easy decision when viewed as his embrace of the privilege of being invited by God to partner with this teenage woman in His divine plan.
This pregnancy may have been an interruption. I concede that it was even so difficult to grasp that it necessitated an angelic visitation in order to be believed.
But the only way Joseph could have responded in obedience in the fashion that he did is to awaken from that angelic dream thinking, “What a privilege to be used by God like this. What a privilege to serve God like this. What a privilege to be in love with a woman like this. What a privilege to share life with her like this.”
This was a tough assignment for Joseph, no doubt. And we too are commissioned by God to steward tough assignments in life. They vary in their details. They sprout up in different ways. They pull on each one of us differently. But if you are called by God, you’ve got some tough assignments.
The question is, are you going to view them as an interruption or as a privilege?
God’s Confidence in You
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
Ephesians 2:10 (NKJV)
The tough patch you are navigating through…
The tough emotions you're battling…
The tough exchanges you're having with other people…
The tough decisions that lie ahead of you…
The tough considerations you are weighing…
The tough restrictions that come with your life's arrangement in this season…
They're only bearable when you can find the privilege in them—because they reflect not just the confidence you have in God, but the confidence God has in you.
He knows you won't quit. He knows you'll manage the pain and keep giving Him the praise. He knows you’ll walk up the steepest part of the mountain and still get to the top and say, “This is the day that the Lord has made. I shall rejoice and be glad in it.” He knows you'll stand in front of a shaken army and not be afraid to fight the giant. He knows you'll stand in front of the expansive sea and stretch out your rod like Moses, or trust your sling and your smooth stone like David, or step out of the boat like Peter.
Life can be draining unless and until you can discern the privilege of being someone that God has confidence in. I agree with Martin Luther, who said that faith is a living, daring confidence in God's grace, so much so that a person will stake their lives on it a thousand times over. That's the kind of confidence I have in God. But do you know what makes me not give up in really tough times? It’s knowing that God has confidence in me.
You must live with a conviction of the confidence that God has in you. A conviction that you're strong enough in Him to walk through this season. A conviction that you won't let what hits you hard make you stop chasing His perfect will for your life.
It's a privilege to live out the plan of God in your life and to test the depth of His confidence in you.
For the Joy Set Before Him
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Hebrews 12:1-2 (NKJV)
The best example of motivation can be found in Jesus.
As the verse above states, it was the joy set before Him that motivated Jesus to endure the cross.
We’re talking about the One who existed before Abraham was, the One who was seated at the right hand of the Father, who is eternal in His very makeup. And yet He was motivated to redeem a lost humanity. That motivation was so strong, He carried a cross on His back and was planted between two thieves on a skull-shaped hill. And when He could have, with one thought, made those who were executing Him drop dead on the spot, instead Jesus was so motivated to make sure that you and I could receive the gift of salvation that He died in order that we could live. He suffered so that we could celebrate.
The prophet Isaiah declared, “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.”
I don't know what motivates you, but can I suggest to you that the best motivation is to surrender your life to Jesus? And I'm not just talking about salvation. I'm talking about consecration and sanctification and trust and confidence. The Bible teaches that He will transform you by the renewing of your mind. He'll conform you to His holy image.
Imitate Jesus. Walk just like Him. Minister just like Him. Pray just like Him. Witness just like Him. If you learn to let your motivations be stirred by following Jesus, He'll make sure that you are shaped to be the person He originally imagined you to be.
Freedom in Surrender
Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
James 4:7 (NKJV)
God wants you to become so much more than you currently are. He has great plans for you. But when it comes to making spiritual progress, the decision has to be one of surrender.
It cannot be forced upon you, because the Lord wants you to yield, not break. He wants you to surrender. Sometimes life's circumstances will hit hard to bring about that surrender, but it’s necessary in order for us to move forward.
William Booth, who founded the Salvation Army, said, “The greatness of a person's power is the measure of his or her surrender.” Surrender is the ultimate act of power. You are living at your strongest not when you are conquering things in life, but when you are surrendering to the lordship of Jesus Christ in your life.
It's like that certain animal trap where if the trapped animal would simply back up a little, the trapping device would relax and the animal would be able to escape. That's the shape of our lives. If we would just learn how to let go of our lives, we would find the freedom and the blessing and the liberation that we are in search of. If we would give up the rights and responsibility and control of our lives and turn them over as an offering of surrender to Jesus, we can become precisely the people God intends for us to be.
Surrender is the first step.
Look for the Incidental Things
See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
Ephesians 5:15-16 (NKJV)
The Lord is not just working in the essential and the crucial areas of your life, but is also working in the areas of your life that are incidental.
There are so many things that are crucial and essential in our lives. For example, my primary education was essential for sure—reading, writing, math—but it was the soft elective of music that introduced me to the man who would then introduce me to Christ. The result would be the trajectory that led me to ministry, which became both my passion and my profession. History, science, and language were essential courses for me to take, but the incidental addition of choir being on my class schedule became the catalyst for my yielding eventually to the call of God on my life.
Some of the most significant aspects of our lives begin with the incidental, the things that happen en route to a place, the discoveries that change your life while searching for something else.
Don't just look for God in the essential areas of your life. Don't just look for God in the crucial areas of your life. Don't just look for God in the necessary areas of your life. But look for God also in the incidental exposures and encounters and exchanges in your life. The impact from these areas can inspire others, change the landscape, bring glory to God, bless lives, and extend the witness of Jesus.
God puts blessing and power and resources in these incidental things that are happening to and around you every day. And here is my strong encouragement: Learn to look for them. Stay discerning about them so that you can steward them faithfully. See them as God moments, opportunities to grow spiritually.
