God’s Will in this New Year
Matthew 2:13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word;
As we enter this New Year we are hoping for the best. I presume, just like me you too might ponder over what is in store and/or what we might encounter in the upcoming year. On and after January 1 and possibly for the next 2-3 weeks we will be wishing everybody good tidings, with the hope that everybody will have a good year ahead. It is good to be optimistic. However, we should be optimistic by being in sync with God’s will, otherwise when things go topsy-turvy we will get discouraged.
The gospel of Matthew tells us an interesting story after the birth of Jesus. Jesus is just born in Bethlehem; a new star is shining in the sky; three wise men have come from the east with some awesome gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh for baby Jesus; the angels in heaven are rejoicing; the shepherds are witnessing the fulfillment of prophesy, that the Messiah will come; Joseph and Mary are thanking God for this awesome blessing that they have been bestowed upon. And in midst of all these wonderful things the angel of the Lord appears to Joseph, telling him to flee to Egypt.
I am sure that Joseph might have been motivated to ask God a lot of questions, with respect to the command that was given to him. If I was to imagine Joseph in current world scenario, he might have asked the following questions; Then what God? Do you want us to live in Egypt forever? Where will we stay in Egypt? Is there somebody there, who will take care of our needs? Should I inform my family of my move? This is too short a notice for me to move, my wife just had a baby? My finances are limited; will I be reimbursed for the moving expenses? Will I get a job there? Will I be able to send Jesus to a good private school? The list of such questions is endless.
Almost every time we desire to know every detail of task that is ahead of us, however in God’s view almost every time it does not happen that way. God gives us a word or takes us through certain circumstances such that we are left wondering what the next steps might be. However, we can learn something from Joseph. He did not ask any such questions, but when he woke up, took the young child and his mother by night itself and left for Egypt. His obedience was immediate, he never questioned God. We need to recognize that God always has a reason for his commandments, which is for our good and for His glory. As we read this passage in the gospel of Matthew we see that God gave this instruction to Joseph to protect the life of Jesus from King Herod and also to fulfill prophesy.
As the New Year begins we might be wondering what the year has in store for us. We want to know all things before hand, so that we can make appropriate plans to cover our bases, just in case we run into problems. We want to take full control of our destiny for the year. However, God unfolds his will and purpose in our life one step at a time. If God is telling you to do something this year, then just do it as he has told, don’t argue with him nor ask him why. God has his reasons and when the time comes, you will know and you will glorify Him for his wonderful love. Then God will tell you your next step, just like in the case of Joseph. God later tells him that Herod who was trying to kill the baby is dead, so now you can move back to Israel.
God loves us very much and he will always take care of our needs, even if we walk through the valley of shadow of death. So as you begin this year, I encourage you to look at Jesus and ask him to guide your path. Let your decisions be in sync with God’s will and your ways be ordered of the Lord. Then you will see the blessing of the Lord cover your life all the days of this New Year. So when somebody says, “Happy New Year” to you, you may want to reply with this statement, “Yes indeed it will be a Happy New Year, since Jesus will be guiding my path”. May the good Lord bless you and have a Happy New Year.
Stanley Samuel,
Associate,
India International Church
As we enter this New Year we are hoping for the best. I presume, just like me you too might ponder over what is in store and/or what we might encounter in the upcoming year. On and after January 1 and possibly for the next 2-3 weeks we will be wishing everybody good tidings, with the hope that everybody will have a good year ahead. It is good to be optimistic. However, we should be optimistic by being in sync with God’s will, otherwise when things go topsy-turvy we will get discouraged.
The gospel of Matthew tells us an interesting story after the birth of Jesus. Jesus is just born in Bethlehem; a new star is shining in the sky; three wise men have come from the east with some awesome gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh for baby Jesus; the angels in heaven are rejoicing; the shepherds are witnessing the fulfillment of prophesy, that the Messiah will come; Joseph and Mary are thanking God for this awesome blessing that they have been bestowed upon. And in midst of all these wonderful things the angel of the Lord appears to Joseph, telling him to flee to Egypt.
I am sure that Joseph might have been motivated to ask God a lot of questions, with respect to the command that was given to him. If I was to imagine Joseph in current world scenario, he might have asked the following questions; Then what God? Do you want us to live in Egypt forever? Where will we stay in Egypt? Is there somebody there, who will take care of our needs? Should I inform my family of my move? This is too short a notice for me to move, my wife just had a baby? My finances are limited; will I be reimbursed for the moving expenses? Will I get a job there? Will I be able to send Jesus to a good private school? The list of such questions is endless.
Almost every time we desire to know every detail of task that is ahead of us, however in God’s view almost every time it does not happen that way. God gives us a word or takes us through certain circumstances such that we are left wondering what the next steps might be. However, we can learn something from Joseph. He did not ask any such questions, but when he woke up, took the young child and his mother by night itself and left for Egypt. His obedience was immediate, he never questioned God. We need to recognize that God always has a reason for his commandments, which is for our good and for His glory. As we read this passage in the gospel of Matthew we see that God gave this instruction to Joseph to protect the life of Jesus from King Herod and also to fulfill prophesy.
As the New Year begins we might be wondering what the year has in store for us. We want to know all things before hand, so that we can make appropriate plans to cover our bases, just in case we run into problems. We want to take full control of our destiny for the year. However, God unfolds his will and purpose in our life one step at a time. If God is telling you to do something this year, then just do it as he has told, don’t argue with him nor ask him why. God has his reasons and when the time comes, you will know and you will glorify Him for his wonderful love. Then God will tell you your next step, just like in the case of Joseph. God later tells him that Herod who was trying to kill the baby is dead, so now you can move back to Israel.
God loves us very much and he will always take care of our needs, even if we walk through the valley of shadow of death. So as you begin this year, I encourage you to look at Jesus and ask him to guide your path. Let your decisions be in sync with God’s will and your ways be ordered of the Lord. Then you will see the blessing of the Lord cover your life all the days of this New Year. So when somebody says, “Happy New Year” to you, you may want to reply with this statement, “Yes indeed it will be a Happy New Year, since Jesus will be guiding my path”. May the good Lord bless you and have a Happy New Year.
Stanley Samuel,
Associate,
India International Church
posted by Danesh Manik | 7:43 PM
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