Thankful for Joseph’s Trust
Thursday’s Verses:
From Matthew 1:16, 18–21, 24 ESV
“And Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ…Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”…When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife,”
Joseph never says a word in the Gospel. But he preaches faith with a booming voice.
In Matthew’s account, we learn that Joseph was “a righteous man.” Righteous, at first, in the sense of being quiet and decent. Faced with Mary’s pregnancy he thinks through how to end their betrothal without humiliating her. How to do what is lawful, and also merciful. Joseph would be admirable for that much. But the Lord asks him to do more.
God appears to Joseph in a dream. Mary’s child isn’t the product of adultery. He is from the Holy Spirit, and Joseph should take Mary as his wife. He is to name the child Jesus. In that name, the child has a mission. Joseph will be his earthly father, and he will save your people from their sins.
Joseph gets up and does what the angel has told him to do.
Christian faith often looks like that. We don’t always understand at first. When we hear God’s promise, we trust and step out in obedience. Joseph doesn’t become the Savior by his obedience. But he does stand close to the Savior. God uses him in serving the work of salvation with brush strokes of everyday home life.
Many callings will look like this. Providing for children. Protecting a family. Enduring times of sorrow or confusion without despair or resentment. Trusting that God is at work even when we don’t see the whole path before us. Today, we remember and give thanks for the way that Joseph answered the call on his life. Not because he was perfect, but because he believed the Lord and acted on that belief.
Christ alone is Lord and Savior. But God works through faithful people in humble places. Joseph is one of them. Let us be another. Amen.
✝️ A Prayer for Today:
Heavenly Father, You gave Joseph the courage to trust Your promise and to care for Your Son. Give us the same faithfulness in our callings. Help us to hear your Word, and to act in love. Rest in the salvation that your Son won for us, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Apostles’ Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Luther’s Morning Prayer:
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
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