The Christmas story is filled with many details regarding the people who were present when Christ was born. The characters mentioned in the story display an inward battle attempting to perceive what God was in the process of delivering. Joseph was no different. He had his own moments of wrestling with what God was going to do.

Matthew 1:20 shows us Joseph’s response to his struggle. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

The plan and the delivery system of bringing God to earth through Jesus His son was so outside of Joseph’s comfort level that it took a visit by an angel to convince him. Joseph was having a hard time perceiving what God had conceived for his life and what God was conceiving through the life of Mary. He almost missed out on the plan God had conceived for Him because he failed to perceive what God was doing. I am convinced that today most people underestimate what God wants to do through their life and therefore do not perceive His plan. The question becomes: “How can I perceive the plan that God has conceived for my life?” The following are a few lessons we can learn from Joseph.

1.Realize that God has conceived a plan for your life.
You are not a random misfit just occupying space. The God of the universe has conceived a divine plan that involves you. Don’t waste your life by convincing yourself that you are the one person that God left out of His plan.

2.Realize that God’s plan involves you, but is not just about you.
One obstacle that keeps people from perceiving God’s plan for their life is that we become convinced that God’s plan for us is just about us. Look at the life of Joseph and Mary. Has there ever been two people more strategic in the plan of God? Yet, though the plan involved them, it was not just about them. The plan was about Jesus rescuing people from their sins.

3.Realize that God’s plan is attached to His desire.
The place where your personal desire and the desire of God intersect, there can be found an onramp to the plan of God for your life. If your desire is in opposition to God’s desire then you know that your desire is not part of God’s plan. We know from Matthew 1:19 that it was in Joseph’s heart to give grace and truth to Mary. The reality is that grace and truth came to Mary and mankind through Jesus.

Today’s Challenge: Ask God to enable you to perceive everything that He has conceived for your life. Don’t underestimate your involvement in His work on earth.