Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.” When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt I called My Son.” Matthew 2:13-15
When the wise men found Jesus and his parents, they worshipped him for being the King of the Jews. However, things changed shortly after their departure. Since they did not return to Herod, Herod decided it was best to kill all the baby boys under the age of two to eliminate the possibility of someone claiming to be the king of the Jews.
Joseph had a dream that he should take Mary and Jesus to Egypt to escape the massacre of children. Mary and Joseph could not just settle down and enjoy their married lives. They had to learn to live by God’s voice and walk the journey of faith with Him!
Moving in those days would have been uncommon since most people lived and worked where they grew up. People did not move for fun, for college education, or for a better job opportunity. They moved either because of a necessity or because God had told them to move. Mary and Joseph had to leave their natural families behind and go to a foreign country. They did not know how long their trip was going to last. They only knew that they had to obey God and protect Jesus!
God’s promises require our stewardship of listening to His instructions every step of the way and protecting that which He has already given us. God does the growing and nurturing, and we do our part in seeing God’s promises fulfilled!
Mary and Joseph remained very flexible and did not ask the Lord any questions. They only followed His instructions. Those steps that God was giving them must have been difficult and inconvenient, but they did not complain. Interestingly, God was fulfilling His purpose every step of the way and was bringing to pass the prophesies spoken about the Messiah in the Old Testament. Even though Jesus was already born, Mary and Joseph had a long way to go on their journey of faith to see the fulfillment of God’s purpose in Jesus’ life!
How are you protecting the seed of God’s promise? Is the promise in the danger of being eliminated by the enemy or by the naysayers? Is God asking you to move or change something in your circumstances? Are you reluctant to move out of your comfort zone? Are you asking lots of questions and arguing with God rather than just stepping into the unknown? Are you willing to remain flexible with God?
Carve out sometime during this season of the year and spend time alone with God. Put aside your opinions of how you want your life to look like and allow Him to show you the path and direct your steps!
