At this point in our Advent story, John has been born to Zechariah and Elizabeth who was to be the forerunner of Jesus, the Messiah. The angel has appeared to both Joseph and Mary with his heavenly news, and they are now married and awaiting the birth of Mary’s Son by the Holy Spirit. Enter, the real world of politics and domination by both Jewish and Roman leaders upon their lives. Luke 2:1-5 gives the circumstances in which Mary and Joseph are caught, by no fault of their own. See how God uses worldly demands and decrees to further His purpose and fulfill His promises!

At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. 2 (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. 4 And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. 5 He took with him Mary, to whom he was engaged, who was now expecting a child.

What an amazing God we serve! He used the Roman authorities to move Mary and Joseph from Nazareth where they lived to Bethlehem where prophesies foretold God’s Son would be born. Micah 5:2 written hundreds of years before spoke of the coming King who would be born in Bethlehem. “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, are only a small village among all the people of Judah. Yet a ruler of Israel, whose origins are in the distant past, will come from you on my behalf.” Joseph would not have knowingly put Mary in harms way by undertaking the journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem when she was heavily pregnant. They were required to go by the law and could not refuse. But this seemingly hard and unusual task was one of God’s design so that His Son would be born in Bethlehem just as He promised. God went with them and protected them so that no harm would come to them.

This is a lesson for each of us. God is with us in the hard times. When things seem impossible, we need to lean into Him and depend upon His strength. I’m sure that the journey on foot and by donkey was arduous for both Mary and Joseph. But God, provided for their safety and carried them to where they needed to be at just the right time. God is good and God is sovereign overall things that happen in our lives. As I said yesterday about Joseph’s walk of obedient faith, God’s got this.

We too need to walk in trust knowing God is good and has good things planned for our future and His glory. Let the faith walk of Mary and Joseph speak to your heart today and give you courage to keep on keeping on no matter how things appear. God’s providential care is greater than anything man has planned or tries to throw at us. Having fortitude, determination and will for the journey of life requires us to put our trust in Him and step out each day in Faith. Be of good cheer- you can do this with Him! Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26

Linda