December 11th

December 11: Matthew 1:22-25

Matthew 1:22-25  (NIV)

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

Reflection

Joseph received a vision in his dream. While this might sound remarkable, the truly remarkable thing is what happened when he woke up. It says that when he woke up, he did what he was told. How many of us can say the same? If Joseph was like the rest of us, the text might read: “When he woke up, he thought about it, debated with God, wavered back and forth, spent a month or two avoiding the issue, and after he couldn’t run any further, did what he was told…”

Is there something you know you should do that you’ve been putting off? What if you got up and just did it?

Prayer

God, the One who tells us what to do, help us to actually do it.