Obedience in the Face of Trial | Matthew 2:19-23

Do you trust Him?

Author

Caleb Lee
January 05, 2024

Trusting God can be hard.

Especially when trusting Him means uprooting your family and life as you know it.

Yet we get another picture of Joseph’s trust in God in Matthew 2:19-23.

19 But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 20 saying, “Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child's life are dead.” 21 And he rose and took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee. 23 And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene.

Matthew 2:19-23

Not only did Joseph take Mary as his wife without hesitation, but he fled Israel and went to Egypt to protect Jesus, and now we see him come back to Israel as soon as the angel appears in his dream again.

I dunno if you’ve traveled with small children before, but I find it difficult to travel with them on planes. Imagine how much tougher it was on foot. 

Even if Jesus was the calmest baby ever to exist, it’s no small feat.

There may be moments in your life when God calls you to trust Him. And it may be difficult to do so. But take comfort that God always has a plan.

The last verse of chapter 2 reminds us of that. Joseph, Mary, and Jesus land in a small town called Nazareth, which people foretold hundreds of years before Christ was born. It was all according to plan.

And God has a plan for your life. Even though it may come with twists and turns that we don’t necessarily expect, we’re able to take comfort in the fact that God will work all things out for our good.

Have a blessed Friday!

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