It’s just a few hours until the curtain is drawn on the church Christmas pageant, but Andy is sick. The 9-year-old has rehearsed for weeks with his friends to reenact the history and beauty of the Nativity. But a winter cold has sent him to bed on opening night. Andy and his parents will be disappointed, no doubt, but the show will go on. Because Andy is Joseph. And everyone knows that the story of Christmas needs Mary, the Magi, and angelic messengers. But Joseph is an extra…an expendable character.
Joseph is often relegated to the shadows in Renaissance masterpieces celebrating the birth of Christ. He has no Christmas hymns honoring his name and no mention in the Bible beyond the birth narratives in Matthew and Luke. Yet, while Joseph acted in a supporting role for the virgin and child, his life leaves an important legacy of faith.
Joseph and Mary were “pledged to be married” (Matthew 1:18), a betrothal period of one year that bound a couple together. According to custom, Joseph had been busy making marriage preparations when he learned that Mary was “found to be with child”—an unemotional, matter-of-fact record of the shocking revelation. No doubt, the news dealt a devastating blow to the young man’s dreams. The future he had imagined—growing old together, raising children and grandchildren after them, celebrating milestones, basking in the Lord’s blessings—devolved into shattered idealism. Sometimes, the Lord takes our lives in an unexpected direction. And it becomes desperately impossible to “straighten what He has made crooked” (Ecclesiastes 7:14).
Joseph was a righteous man (v. 19), devoted to the Jewish Law as much as his almost-bride. He could have legally and openly broken off the betrothal, leaving Mary to defend her honor among the whispering public. But he opted to divorce her discreetly. Perhaps, without creating scandal, Mary could slip into the background, a single mother raising an illegitimate child. But an angel of the Lord came to Joseph in a dream: “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife” (Matthew 1:20)
More than two dozen times in the Bible, God tells His people, “Don’t be afraid.” To the Israelites who could hear the approaching hoofbeats of the Egyptian army as they stood on the shore of the Red Sea... To His people who were about to cross the Jordan River into a promised land filled with enemies who outnumbered them… To a prophet in Babylon who was assured God would bring His people out of captivity… To a virgin in Nazareth, to Zechariah in the temple, and to shepherds in the field.
Do not be afraid.
We’re urged to “fear not” because fear is our impulsive response to the unexpected, undesirable, unmanageable bends in the straightaways of life.
Joseph had a decision to make. He could allow fear to paralyze him and lead him to resort to his own strength, intuition, and resources. Or he could trust God who brings infinitely more to the table. Joseph could choose to walk away or walk by faith. Matthew writes, “When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife” (Matthew 1:24).
The wonder of Joseph was his unwavering faith.
WHAT IS FAITH?
Faith is confidence. It’s an inner certainty of what is potential (not yet) and invisible (not seen). Faith is unnecessary for me to believe that something happened five years ago or early this morning. No faith is needed for me to know that I’m typing on my laptop. It’s happening right now. It’s a present experience that I can see. But regarding what may happen tomorrow or next year, or regarding what I cannot see—this requires faith. Hebrews 11:1 is the Bible’s best definition of faith: “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”
How does Joseph, or anyone for that matter, have faith to walk into such an unseen, unknowable future?
By looking back.
God’s people have the benefit of history—how God has proved Himself faithful throughout time.
Like Joseph, we can look back to the spectacular parting of the Red Sea waves or the mysterious provision of manna in the wilderness. We can remember how the walls of Jericho fell outward at a mere trumpet blast or how a boy beat a giant against all odds. We can remember fire that consumes a sacrifice on Mt. Carmel or the rescue of three courageous men in Babylon’s fiery furnace. Recalling God’s past work inspires faith for our present walk.
Since 2016, my wife has led a nonprofit ministry helping teen girls embrace and live out their identity in Jesus Christ. Because of COVID, THERE{4} Teen Gathering had to shift their annual in-person conference to an online, livestream experience. Then, with all the necessary pieces ready, a statewide ice storm threatened to shut down everything the week of their 2021 event. The electric power grid was unpredictable. Our church hosting the conference was managing several burst water pipes. Icy roadways and delayed flights prevented key speakers and musicians from getting into town. It was a worst-case scenario. And fear would have been a reasonable, human response.
But she remembered what God had done in previous years. Time and again, God had overcome logistical, technical, financial, and spiritual obstacles. The multitude of miracles God had performed in prior years to reach teen girls with the Gospel of Jesus could fill a book. Though “past performance is no guarantee of future results” when it comes to earthly investments, she could have faith that she could have faith that the God of her past was the God of her present. In the end, the conference was broadcast worldwide and reached more than 15,000. Faith enjoys God’s reward!
In Psalm 77:11-12, the writer reflects,
I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.
I will meditate on all your works
and consider all your mighty deeds.
This is not mere nostalgia. The recollection of God’s power in the past strengthens our faith for the future.
What is your impossible circumstance? What relationship can God not reconcile? What financial burden can He not resolve? What addiction can He not overcome? What chronic disease can He not heal? What disintegrating marriage can He not restore? Believe that what is absurd may be accomplished by the power of God. He is still able and dependable to be at work in you and for you. Don’t be afraid. Don’t walk away. Look back and then walk forward in unwavering faith.