The Joseph Factor 102

One would have thought that Joseph would have been excited about the birth of Jesus Christ. The fact that God had chosen the woman he had chosen for a wife should have been a cause for celebration. In fact, one would have thought that the fact that God had selected his wife to give birth to the Saviour would have eased his mind.

We don’t see Joseph celebrating or opening the gift of JESUS with joy and exuberance; instead, we see a man lost in his thoughts, a man worried, an upset man. Why? *Because generally, when God gives you a gift, it will not always evoke joy and praise but sometimes cause confusion, doubt, pain, and mayhem*.

LET US EXAMINE THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT THE CASE THAT SOMETIMES WHEN GOD GIVES YOU A GIFT, IT WILL WORRY YOU BEFORE IT BLESSES YOU.

1. Luke 1:26 announces the birth of Jesus Christ. The birth of Jesus Christ (the gift) is announced to Mary. Mary was promised in marriage to a man named Joseph. Mind you, at this time, in real-time, Joseph had no clue what was happening behind his back.  Many people have lost priceless gifts because they were ignorant they even had a gift. Joseph was about to walk away from the gift of Jesus the Savior because he did not even know he had that gift till the Angel came to him in a dream. You and I may not have the luck of an angel coming to instruct our ignorance on a gift we have that we aren’t aware we have. That is why we need to learn from Joseph so that we don’t make the mistake he nearly made.

Joseph discovers Mary is pregnant, and the annoying aspect is that the young lady insists she is still a virgin. How many men can take this? Joseph tells himself, “I know what I am going to do; I will break the engagement privately and walk away from this GIFT of the unborn Savior and his mother. An angel appears to Joseph and tells him to do the opposite of his plan. You must note that Joseph listens and marries Mary not because he is fully convinced about the trend of events but because he is a righteous man and fears God. If you came to him in the name of God, he dared not disobey. 

The lesson from this episode is that you do the bidding of God not because you are convinced but because He, God, says so. Most of the time, the things God demands of us are outrageous to the human mind, but you have to believe and do as He says. Only after you have obeyed, and the blessings come will you appreciate what God was up to.

Even though the gift of Jesus was coming into his life, like every normal person who would have been in Joseph’s situation, his mind was filled with doubt, unrest, terror, worry and sadness.

How often have you heard Joseph speak out in the gospel narratives as a first-person narrator? NEVER! He has no recorded words in Scripture. This is very typical of the psychology of men. When men face profound life issues, they shut down, speak less and get lost in their thoughts. You will ask him what is wrong, and he will tell you nothing. If you dare push him, he will bring all the frustration upon you. 

If you are a wife and feel strongly that something is worrying your husband and you ask him and he says “nothing,” don’t push it. Let him be. He will talk when he is ready.

So, at this stage of the narrative, all Joseph wanted was OUT– to get out quietly and calmly without drawing attention to himself. Joseph was about to leave this beautiful gift (JESUS the Savior).

Don’t walk away from your gift, the gift of your wife, child, life, work, faith, and vocation. Don’t!!!

I want to repeat that when God gives us a gift, we tend to run from it instead of running towards it because of the challenges that sometimes accompany it. If you are not careful, your energies and focus will be on the challenges, problems, and humans frustrating you as a result of that gift you have.

TO BE CONTINUED…

“WATCH OUT FOR “THE JOSEPH FACTOR 103”