The marvel in the mundane!
Joseph finds himself with a very difficult choice. His betrothed is pregnant, and she claims it’s a miraculous conception… the Baby inside her is conceived of the Holy Spirit. Yet, the culture in which they live will not put up with such a scandal: there will be consequences paid and the possibility of life being forfeit!
Out of respect for her, he will attempt a quiet divorce, behind the scenes from watching eyes and listening ears. Surely this will protect Mary and spare her public humiliation. If he should act quickly enough, then maybe they can avoid such a terrifying ordeal and move on in life and away from each other.
After all, he knows that he is innocent, but he could never have dreamed that she could be found so guilty!
“And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.’”
Matthew 1:19-21
Joseph’s faith is not extravagant. It doesn’t involve kings and decrees or nations struggling against one another in epic battle. It’s not about public expression of any kind, actually. There’s no notoriety or reputation to be gained whatsoever. The faith displayed here is much more mundane than all that. It’s the kind of faith that no one will ever know about; nobody will ever see it. In fact, Joseph’s faith will go unnoticed for nearly a lifetime; it’s likely that several decades later Mary will finally share these facts with Matthew and Luke in the formation of their Gospel accounts, and perhaps only then will the believing world ever hear about the quiet faithful choice of Joseph to believe and to obey.
Joseph’s faith in God’s strength to overcome a difficult circumstance would never be mentioned during his lifetime. It would hardly be talked about and never praised by his friends or his family. He would never get to see the fruition of his simple act of trusting in God for the well-being of his family, for he would be out of the picture long before Jesus’s ministry ever begins: His teachings and miracles, His calling of the disciples, hearing His debates with the Pharisees, or witnessing His death on the cross and His victorious resurrection from the grave. Joseph would miss all that, not to mention the coming of the Spirit in the inauguration of the Church and the saving faith that the rest of his family will express as they, one by one (including Mary!), will place their faith in Jesus for the salvation of their souls. Joseph doesn’t participate in any of that, yet his quiet choice to obey the word of the Lord by faith enables it all.
In many respects, his faith models much of our own experience. Most of the time, we live in the dream of the routine: the alarm rings out, we get up, eat breakfast, brush our teeth, go to work, go to school; we’re diligent in studies, honorable at the desk, get home, make dinner, watch a little Andy Griffith Show or maybe some of our favorite sports-ball team, read a book and go to bed. Most of life is defined by simple, day to day, practical, rudimentary choices that reflect quiet faith in a strong Savior, decisions that we alone make and no one else may ever see.
No one may ever know about our internal struggles and pain, our doubts or our wayward thoughts, but because we put our trust in the God who sees, the God who dwells within, the God who is ever-present with us and promises to be with us through whatever circumstance we go through, whether it’s understood by our collective wisdom or we have no idea what, how, why or whatever... we are following in the footsteps of those believers described in Scripture who place their faith in the benevolent providence of a good God, and He will carry them through.
Joseph’s private choice to trust the message (aka, God’s word) and to take Mary as his wife and to raise her little Baby Boy as his own, naming Him “Savior,” “Yeshua,” “Jesus,” the One who will save His people from their sins. This is the choice that reflects mundane faith in a marvelous Savior.
And this is the choice before us, every day as we listen to the word of God, as we read it and apply it to life: to simply obey by faith, entrusting ourselves to the strength of our God. In so doing, we exhibit what is meant by the phrase “Strength for Fear.”
Glorify. Train. Engage. 