SURPRISED BY GOD: Sometimes, God surprises us WITH LESSONS WE CAN NEVER FORGET.

SURPRISED BY GOD
Sometimes, God surprises us WITH LESSONS WE CAN NEVER FORGET.
Meditation for December 25, 2009
Matt 1:18-25
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows. When His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. 19 And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man, and not wanting to disgrace her, desired to put her away secretly. 20 But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for that which has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 "And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins." 22 Now all this took place that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, 23 "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which translated means, "God with us." 24 And Joseph arose from his sleep, and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took her as his wife, 25 and kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus. NASB

Introduction:
The world is full of frustrated people. Frustration in fact, seems to be frequent companion in our journey through life. The only people who will not be and cannot be frustrated are those who do not want anything in life and who do not dream of anything to achieve or acquire. They have full focus on what is important and completely detached from long-range dreams. You see, a bird does not dream of flying. It realizes it has the ability to fly so it flies to look for its food and to move from one place to the other. The fish does not dream of swimming. It swims to find its food and its not think of a warehouse where it can store its food for the next days. Some people are like the fish and like the birds and therefore, they cannot be frustrated and disappointed as birds and fish do not get disappointed. When people realize who they really are in the loving eyes of God and what He wants them to be in His omniscient plan, we will freed from our frustrations, fears, fidgetiness, and the like.

But, precisely because we are not fish nor birds, we develop dreams. We define (technical description) and describe (attractive definition) that which we long to have and long to see. We make plans. And precisely because we make plans, we dream, we define what we long to have and see, we become capable of being frustrated, but the other side of it, the good side of it, is that those who dream and make plans do have the possibility of experiencing the joy of achieving, the joy of fulfillment and the satisfaction brought about by accomplishment. Frustration is, in fact, unfulfilled expectation.

Let me tell you about the life of a typical Jew like Joseph, the man Mary was to take as her husband. In a Jewish society in those days, a man would be typically hardworking and would also be typically married. Many of the events in his life are dictated by rules and regulations but there is one period in his life where his personal decision is required. And here his dream develops.

When a boy is very young, his father will speak to another man, the father of a girl, and the fathers will agree to enter into an agreement about future of their son and daughter. This is the engagement. The boy is promised to be the husband of the girl and the girl is promised to be the wife of the boy. When they become of age, the fathers will meet again and this time both the former boy, now a man and the former child-girl, now a lady, are in attendance. Both will be asked if they wish to honor the engagement entered into by their parents. When they agree, they will be publicly introduced as betrothed or pledged to each other and they begin to be referred to as husband and wife. Here the dream develops and takes a definite form. The period of Betrothal, lasting for about a year, was used to make plans for the wedding which, by tradition has to be the grandest the couple can afford. The wedding can last for a week for those who can afford.

Joseph did have a dream. He was betrothed to Mary and the date of the wedding has been announced and preparations were underway. Then, disaster, or what seemed to have been a disaster, struck. The woman he was to marry was found to be with child and they have not yet lived together. In Tagalog, they would say: Nagbuntis ng hindi pa nahawakan. Natingnan lang, buntis na!

While we read this today and think about salvation as the main topic here, Joseph went through this event and I don’t think he was being doctrinal about it. I think his emotions were painfully high, his feelings severely wounded and his dreams shattered and splintered into many pieces. It was a big disappointment, a frustrating and unexpected hindrance to his dreams and happiness. He was not very prepared as we ourselves are not fully prepared for many of the frustrations we encounter along the way.

Since frustration can be a fairly challenging and overwhelming situation that some of us may go through at an unexpected phase of our life, let’s take a look at the frustrations of Joseph and learn from what he had to go through and what he was asked to do.

1. A LESSON ON HUMILITY: GOD’S PLAN BEFORE OUR PLAN . SURRENDER YOUR DREAMS. Mary, the wife to be, had become pregnant and must now be abandoned
Verse 18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows. When His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. 19 And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man, and not wanting to disgrace her, desired to put her away secretly.

• The dream of a grand wedding is shattered. There will not be a wedding. Joseph had opted for a divorce.
• The dream of having a first born- a dream of important for a typical Jewish man, is shattered. Mary was carrying HER first born which was not HIS firstborn. Ouch, array, masakit, kumikirot.

2. A LESSON ON OBEDIENCE: GOD’S CHOICE BEFORE OUR CHOICES.
He was torn between his kindness and his hurt as a man. And his frustration was aggravated by the choices available to him: Dalawa lang: Public Divorce or Private Divorce.
Verse 19 And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man, and not wanting to disgrace her, desired to put her away secretly. 20 But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for that which has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
The options were either a PUBLIC DIVORCE or A PRIVATE DIVORCE. Either way, his pain will not be cured. When our choices are limited, life becomes a very frustrating experience. Choices become painfully pressing and demanding. Here is an important lesson: when our choices are so limited (because our choices are made out of our limitations and our pains), God adds a third choice. He told Joseph through the angel to take Mary as his wife. Of course, God can always expand our options, as what happened in this case. Yes we can actually run out of options but not God. And when our options are not only painful but also pain-inflicting, God adds another choice. Be sensitive. He may have an additional choice for you.

In our life, we go through these very difficult situations and what aggravates the difficulty is the absence of many options. Options are there but unpleasant and seemingly insufficient and limited. Remember again, God is not like us. He never runs out of options and what is even more wonderful is that as He considers these options, He will do it in such a way that all things will work together for our good as Paul says in Romans.

3. A LESSON ON TRUST: GOD IS ALWAYS RIGHT SO I WILL TRUST HIM ALL THE MORE. Verse 20 But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for that which has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 "And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins." 22 Now all this took place that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, 23 "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which translated means, "God with us." 24 And Joseph arose from his sleep, and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took her as his wife, 25 and kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.
Joseph started with frustration but then he realized that God was carrying out His plan for the world and the part of that plan is the coming of the Savior. And for the Savior to be truly free from contamination, he must not have a biological father but he must have a father in the eyes of men so that he does not get to be considered as a child of sin. Joseph was the man who would help Mary bring the Savior into the world not as her sexual partner but as a faithful servant of God and a sacrificial companion for her.

Anybody who thinks only of his own life and his own happiness will be badly disappointed and frustrated. Once he aligns his life and his plans with the plan of God, the meaning comes out and the burdens can actually become blessings.

Today is an invitation to face your frustrations with faith and find out what God wants you to do for Him because when we find that out, we get the meaning and purpose of our lives. Then, even the worst of our nightmares can become pleasant dreams. Our defeats can turn out to be our deliverance. Our Burdens may become our blessings. Our Frustrations may become our first fruits. Our sadness can become our gladness. Our painful solitude can become a joyful gratitude. Our pains can become our gains. God is not limited in His options for us.