“Now when they had gone, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him.” So Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother while it was still night, and left for Egypt.” (Matthew 2:13–14, NASB95)
So Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother while it was still night, and left for Egypt. Fully devoted followers of Jesus obey immediately. In fact, to delay is to disobey. When God calls us we go, we do, we stop, we tell, we forgive, we respond. Why? Because “you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:20, NASB95)
It is in the spiritual nature God imparts to our souls to obey. We know, deep within our spirit, that God is both compassionate and wise. When He speaks He is motivated for our good, never for our evil. Despite what the voices around us are saying and the circumstances we find ourselves experiencing; God is working out His plan.
In His time God will reveal the “whys” to our questions. For now, we trust His character. He hasn’t let us down yet and the last page to our lives isn’t written either. In the end, all wrongs will be made right and all sacrifices will be rewarded.
Despite the incredible hardship and the dead of night, Joseph knew God was acting on his behalf and for the sake of his family. As most new fathers, he did what had to be done to protect them, in response to the urgent warning of God.
Perhaps, like I, you had never thought about this. When Joseph left, he didn’t know about the slaughter of the innocent baby boys two years and below. He just knew to flee! It would be weeks, perhaps months, before word would come to him of the wretched evil of Herod, the bloodthirsty maniac on the throne.
You see when we obey God blesses, but we might not know what He has spared us from for a while, or until eternity. For now, we need only trust and obey, to respond knowing He is compassionate and wise. Joseph assures us it will be worth it all as a result.
Train Them Thursdays seeks to wed the Great Commission directive of Jesus with the practice He employed while on Earth. Each nugget is meant to encourage the reader with a “can-do” spirit to realize that discipleship is something each person is both capable of and empowered to accomplish. Dr. Matthew Lee Smith, Executive Director of Eagles In Leadership, writes each thought and they flow out of decades of his tried and true field-testing in multiple settings from rural to inner city. He welcomes your comments below.
