Obedience!!! Do you find this to be hard or easy? I find this to be so hard, and I am a rule follower most of the time. Joseph had obedience. He did what the Lord commanded. Joseph showed us the power of an obedient heart since Joseph’s faithful obedience protected Mary and Jesus. I want to be like Joseph and be faithful and obedient to what God asks of me, even if it is hard to do. Do you want to do this also?
Faithfulness is a desirable quality. However, walking by faith requires perseverance. Perseverance has an element of pain. It means being obedient during the days of desperation, discouragement, misery, pain, sorrow, tribulation, and dashing hope. It involves patience during these times. Persistence during times of affliction and endurance during the years of suffering.
Faith perseverance requires strength that comes only from the Word of God: “When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, Lord God Almighty.” Jeremiah 15:16
A thriving relationship with His God nourished Jeremiah. His strength is sustained by feasting on God’s Word as if his life depends on it. He cannot survive without the Lord. His own strength is insufficient to bear the weight of his calling. We are in the same situation as Jeremiah and Joseph. We have to nourish in God’s Word to find strength in obeying God.
From the outside looking in, the community looks at Joseph’s betrothed has been unfaithful. He considers breaking his engagement to Mary. Then God speaks to him in a dream. Joseph then agrees to cooperate. Joseph’s willingness to ruins his reputation reveals his yielded and obedient heart. He accepts God’s commandment to take Mary as his wife and Jesus as his son.
“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for being in control of everything. I pray that we will trust you with all our being that we will obey you in all that you ask of us.
In Jesus Name
Amen
