Wednesday, November 30

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Matthew 1:20-25

But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you will give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” – which means, “God with us.”
When one of our sons was little – about 5 or 6 years old – he didn’t like to go into empty parts of our home when he was alone. If we were all in the family room, for example, and he needed to go down into the basement to get a toy, he would walk over and stand at the top of the stairs and just stand there until one of us noticed. When we told him to go ahead down the stairs he would say, “I’m scary Daddy,” and then either his Mom or I would walk with him down the stairs as he retrieved the toy. Each time this happened we would encourage him by telling him he could learn to do it all by himself – that there was nothing in the basement to be afraid of – that he could turn on the light and go to the basement all by himself. Over time, he eventually got to the place where I would just need go about half way down the stairs with him – and then just to stand on the first step – and with that he could muster the courage to go the rest of the way on his own. He’s now 14 and no longer needs us to be with him as he goes up and down the stairs!

I have often remembered those days with our young son when I think about the phrase, “God with us.” My little boy just needed to know someone was there – he needed to feel my presence with him.

Matthew writes:

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” – which means, “God with us.”
In a way, I think, we are all like my young son. The world is full of scary things, scary places and scary events - and we can feel like we are all alone. And I think Joseph had to feel something like that as he tried to decide what to do with his ruined engagement and marriage.

Then, as he tossed and turned on his bed, he had a dream that was more than a dream. It was a message; a message from God that told him he was not alone; a message that told him not to be afraid; a message that told him what he should do and why; a message that told him that God was with him – even in this unthinkable and unimaginable situation!

When Joseph woke up I don’t think he necessarily understood all that was happening to him – how could he? But I do think he knew that God was with him. And because he knew God was with him, he was no longer afraid of what was happening to him – or to do what God was asking him to do.

Are you facing a scary situation in your life? If so – and sooner or later we all do – remember that the promise of God through the prophet is also for you:

“The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” – which means, “God with us.”

Pastor Brian Coffey