"So He Got Up."

What would you do if God asked you to move?

And I mean literally move: pick up everything, including your wife (or husband) and kids, and travel to a land where you don't know anyone?

Is it easy for us to listen to what God wills for us to do?

"After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, 'Get up, take the child and his mother to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child's life are dead.'

'So he got up...'"
-(Matthew 2:19-20)

No questions asked. Joseph and his peculiar little family trusted God enough to just listen and do what he was told with no hesitation!

It must have been wearisome, moving from this town to that with first a very pregnant Mary, and then a newborn baby, and then a two-year-old (he may have been the Savior in little pudgy baby form, but traveling with any two-year-old has to be tiring). They must have been exhausted, confused, and wanting to settle down to raise their family.

But when the voice spoke, they listened. No questions asked.

Why?

Why was it so easy for Mary, probably just a teenager, to automatically respond to the angel, when she was told she would be the mother of the Son of God:

"'I am the Lord's servant,' Mary answered. 'May it be to me as you have said.'" 
-(Luke 1:38)

This is why: 

Joseph and Mary trusted Him. They trusted that God loved them, and would keep them from harm.

"I will sing the Lord's praise for He has been good to me."
-(Psalm 13:6)

"O Sovereign LORD, you are God! Your words are trustworthy, and you have promised these good things to your servant."
-(2 Samuel 7:28)

They also knew, from experience, that God was a "man of His word." Everything that He had said to them that would happen had happened. It would be foolishness not to keep listening to Him!

So let's slow down a little bit.

Why are we so hesitant to believe what God says to us? Why are we hesitant to do what He wants us to do?

Have we forgotten the goodness of our God? Have we forgotten what He has done for us, in our own personal lives? Have we forgotten that He not only is the all-powerful, mighty and supreme God of the universe, but that He also deeply, madly, passionately...

...loves little ol' us?

"... If God is for us, who can be against us?" 
-(Romans 8:31)

Prayer:

Lord, I am weary from the things of this world, but I don't want that to stop me. I want to be more receptive to Your will. Please help me to understand what You want me to do, and BE my strength so that I am able to do it! Help me to remember all that You have done for me, and let that be my fuel to serve and love You to the best of my ability. Give us, me and my brothers and sisters, the trusting spirit of Joseph and Mary. When You tell us to move, we'll move. When You ask us to follow, we'll follow. 

"For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline."
-(2 Timothy 1:7)

Amen.