Someday Devotional: Day 11
Devotional by Sandi Patty (2000)
Matthew 1:24-25
“…he (Joseph) did what the angel of the Lord commanded.”
When Joseph awoke, he put his faith into action. “He did what the angel of the Lord commanded.” He made Mary his wife, but did not have sexual relations with her until after the birth of Jesus. Action - the most powerful response to our affirmation of faith. Joseph surrendered and then acted upon that surrendered faith. Again, I love the humanness of Joseph’s honest struggle. It was after he was confused and afraid, that God was able to really work. Joseph also gave God the time to reveal Himself. Once again, he treated Mary with tremendous decency and respect. He made “an honest woman out of her” - not for her sake (she knew where she stood with God) but for the sake of public scrutiny. He also refrained from sexual relations with her (which according to the law was his right) until after Jesus was born.
What tremendous life lessons for us in these two simple verses:
Put our faith into action
Do things decently and in order
Don’t be in a hurry to impose your own wants, rights and needs. Put others first.
What a challenge! Applying these truths to our everyday, we realize that as we defer to others needs around us, we develop greater confidence in knowing that God is taking care of us.
Excerpt from devotional Someday: A Book of Days
Copyright © 2000 by Sandi Patty
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