Happy Monday, All!
Yeah, I know, its a bit of a contradiction in terms, but as my mother reminds me often: If you are above ground, you are doing fine.
Anyway, on to our study. Today's posting takes us to our last reflection on Joseph's journey in Matthew 2. In this text, we meet Joseph and family continuing on their journey. In these verses, Herod has died and the angel of the Lord has appeared to Joseph yet again with a new set of directives.
This time, the angel tells Joseph that he is to "take the child and his mother back to the land of Israel, because those who were trying to kill the child are dead." So the obedient Joseph gathers his family and returns to Israel, learned of a new ruler---Archelaus---who Joseph feared, received directives to avoid him, and left for the region of Galilee and settled in Nazareth.
So, just to keep this straight, Joe, May and lil' J have gone from Bethlehem (for the birth) to Egypt (to hide out) to Israel (freer to roam now the Herod has gone on to glory) and then to Nazareth to put down some roots.
So what's the takeaway for us?
1.) The Lord was with them during each leg of the journey---a simple fact still worth shouting about.
2.) Peep Mary's abiding trust in the brutha. We don't hear from her or her perspectives on all this settling down and rolling out hurriedly with this new very special baby on her hip...and you know sister had some words to say on all this...yet, we are left to assume her PROFOUND TRUST in Joseph to do right for their family. And clearly, she and Jay had been through a few thangz and he'd kept them safe...so she seemed to just hold on to the brutha and trust that what the Lord was sending him in dreams was worth listening to.
3.) The Lord protected this family from their haters...so much so that they outlived their most feared hater of the era, Herod. And again, I say rejoice for that abiding reminder.
So each time Joseph moved in the spirit...and the Lord kept he and his family. Recently I had a similar experience of moving in God's spirit.
Last week, I returned to Jacksonville after a whirlwind visit to Illinois. As soon as the plane touched ground, rain began to spatter against the window. I said to myself, "whew, praise the Lord, we landed just in time". However, the rains pounded the plan to the point where we were not allowed to deplane and walk the short distance to the jetbridge until the pounding rains ended.
But still, my travel-dulled mind didn't calculate that any of this rain pouring out of the sky would have any impact on my trip from the airport to my house...duuuuhhhhhh.
Needless to say, I collected my baggage, paid the parking fees and headed home. When I got on the I-95 N, I began to see what I was up against. The rains pounded the car and pavement to the point where I could hardly see. The low rolling fog and violent splatter of water of trucks barreling past me rattled me to my core.
I decided to pull over...I NEEDED TO PULL OVER and figure out how to proceed. All I could think of: you are nowhere near home, you have no one to call, you can't see a damn thing, you need to move from the shoulder of this Interstate to get into the far left lane to navigate the snaky labyrinth of I-95 N under construction to make it half way home---WHAT THE HELL YOU GON' DO??? Fortunately, I had no where to be and all day to get there so I decided to hold my mule and think things over.
However, as I sat there my fear gave way to calm. And the words of my mother came over me: Don't wait till the storm is over, praise HIM while you are in the storm. (Again, the importance of keeping godly counsel to bubble up in you since it was spoken over you in the past.) So, I began to sing some gospel songs and praise God because he promised not to leave me or forsake me...he promised never to leave me... and I KNEW he was there with me...so I sunk into that trust, weathered the water washing over my car, and waited for my opening.
When, I'd gotten the signal to move, I did so, eased down I-95 N again...and yet visibility was still stank-nasty. So, I pulled over again. This time I sat in a pocket between a piece of the shoulder and a ramp merging onto the Interstate. This was a wider space where my vision was better and I could better see how to negotiate when I gathered up the next wave of courage to try again. I did call Mama to let her know that I was delayed by whether so she wouldn't worry.
Interestingly, as I sat there and the fog cleared, I realized that a car had slammed into the center divide and an ambulance and then police car came to assess the damage. I prayed for that passengers and the paramedics on the spot. In my gut, I thought OK, stopping wasn't the worst of the decisions I could have made. I sat there for about 25-30 minutes praying, watching traffic, thinking about alternative routes to take and watching the weather continue to pound us all.
And then, it happened...the weather broke ever so slightly, my courage mounted and the Holy Spirit ordered me to move...and I did in good Josephian fashion. I eased out cautiously increasing my speed as I increased in confidence--and the weather cleared enough for me to make it back to my side of town.
However, as I made my way, I witnessed at least five accident scenes of cars piled against center medians and on the shoulders as paramedics and sheriffs worked to manage these scenes.
Seeing these accidents dot the Interstate all the way home was confirmation that waiting on the Lord and sitting still to get further instruction had spared me real agony on that day.
When I arrived home, I called Mama. When she picked up, I sang a few verses of "Bow Down & Worship Him" and said "...talk about a sister with a fresh testimony"! She laughed, I got my mail and moved on the evening.
So, I hope that this account of Joseph's moves in the spirit and my own will encourage you on today!
Be well!
---Nicole
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