Joseph and Mary had big plans.

They were simple folk with regular plans.

Get married and build a life, working hard to produce an honorable Jewish family.

Probably were going to stay in town, as folks didn’t regularly move away from their communities.

I can imagine Mary collecting recipes from her mother, gathering the skills needed to run her own household.

Joseph, too, honing his carpentry skills, collecting tools, starting on their forever house.

They had plans.

Plans that were normal, thoughtful, accepted, and logical.

Accepted.

Then God stepped in.

He changed their plans.

Radically.

Disrupted their entire future.

Joseph and Mary went from knowing how their future would proceed to trusting God with everything they had.

Went from predictable reliable plans to an unknown, scary future.

Scary, yes, because now they had no one but themselves.

And God.

Their friends probably thought they were crazy.

And their family hopefully believed them, but the Bible doesn’t record their reactions, so who really knows?

All we know is both Mary and Joseph said yes to God.

They trusted His words and each other.

They chose to walk a difficult journey because they KNEW God had ordained it.

They were confident God would be with them always.

That they were IN His plans.

And what about you?

What has God interrupted in your life?

What plans of yours has He changed?

It’s irritating, I know, when things change.

Guessing Mary and Joseph weren’t always in great moods about the whole thing.

But they kept going.

They remembered they were in God’s plan.

That God Himself was in control.

And you, too.

When God interrupts your plans, you fall back into His.

His great plans for your life.

Jeremiah 29:11 reminds us, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Like Joseph and Mary, allow God to interrupt.

Accept His perfect plan for your life.

And take comfort knowing He wants the very best for you, His child.

 

 

Photos by Alex Gindin, Roman Kraft, Luca Baggio, & Javier Allegue Barros on Unsplash