Don’t Reason Away God’s Plan for Your Life.

By Greg Sanders

Matthew 1:19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

When things seem impossible, often our immediate response is to reason our way out of the situation. We look at the impossible situation before us and try to come up with the most intelligent way to deal with the issue. Joseph had a major issue. His bride-to-be is pregnant and the baby is not his. Joseph was thinking, “How can I be faithful to the law and still give her mercy?” To do one would be at the expense of the other. He was thinking that there were only two real options. But Joseph forgot that God was not confined to only natural options. God showed up and instructed Joseph to do something that was not one of his options…marry her. When you are faced with the impossible decisions of life, don’t reason away God’s plan. Instead, keep your heart open and remember these two things:

First, God is not limited to the natural. In the natural He only had two options. God sent a messenger and let him know that there was a third option. The angel said, “I want you to do the unthinkable and I want you to do something un-natural.” I want you to marry her…. Notice that was not an option in Joseph’s plans. However, what was unthinkable, what was unimaginable was exactly what Joseph was supposed to do. God is not confined to the natural. The reason you lose sleep at night over your situation is because you have forgotten that God is not limited to the natural.

Second, remember that God can speak to you. I have asked myself many times “Why didn’t God just speak to Mary and Joseph when they were together?” He could have just sat them down and said, “Now listen kids, here is what is going to happen.” They could have avoided all of this confusion of wondering, “Does He believe me or can I believe her?” That scenario would have been so much simpler so why did God not take my advice and do it that way? Here is what I think: I believe that both of them needed to know they could hear from God on their own. The rest of their lives were going to be lived by divine direction by God. Just a few verses later, Joseph has another dream to take Mary and Jesus to Egypt to protect Jesus from Harrod’s slaughter of all the male babies. Mary had to be able to know that Joseph could hear from God and Joseph needed to know that He could hear from God as well. God can come into the places you don’t understand and speak to you. Don’t try to reason your way out of trouble, instead remember that God can speak to you right in the middle of your trouble.
Today’s Challenge: Instead of trying to reason your way out of what you don’t understand, open up your heart and allow the Lord to speak to you. Remember that God is not limited to your natural solutions. He is the God who made water flow out of rocks, caused manna to fall from the sky, and even impregnated a virgin to give birth to a son named Jesus. He can move in ways you do not expect and speak to you specific instruction regarding your impossible choices. Seek Him and trust Him to do so today.

Blessings,

Greg