Following God’s Plan When Life Is Tough

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. – Luke 2:1-5

Over the next two days, we are going to look at the Christmas story in Luke Chapter 2. As we do, we are going learn some unbelievably valuable life lessons that I pray we will never forget. If we can remember these truths when we face the difficulties of life, we will step up and be what God wants us to be and do what God wants us to do.

First, we must acknowledge that we don’t always understand what God is doing. The days that we are reading about in Luke were days of living in a corrupt dictatorship, under tremendous economic oppression and political domination under a madman who believed he was god, and where minorities and women had little to no rights.

You would be tempted back in that day to wonder “Where is God?” But as you read the Christmas story, it becomes very clear that God was behind the scenes, pulling the levers, pressing the buttons, flying the plane and everything was going according to plan. So remember, when you don’t understand what God is doing, just know that God is doing what He wants to do.

Second, we must realize that life can be tough. Remember, Joseph had been betrothed to Mary, and he pretty much had his life planned out. He was a carpenter, he was looking forward to marrying this beautiful girl with whom he would raise his family in Nazareth where their parents lived.

All of a sudden, his entire life comes tumbling down because of an unexpected pregnancy and the message of an angel. Joseph was in a tough spot. He had to decide if he was still going to try to make his own plan happen, or if he was going to submit to God’s plan that was very different from what Joseph expected. Even when life was tough, Joseph made the right decision and set an incredible example for us in the process.

I pray that you’ll come back tomorrow as we continue talking about the lessons we can learn from the Christmas story and the life of Joseph.

Dear Lord, thank you for always working even when I can’t see it. Help me to always remember I can trust you even when I don’t understand what you’re doing. Regardless of how tough life gets, your plan is always worth following. In Jesus’ name, amen.