We can all dream. But what we do when we wake up is what counts.
“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.” (Matthew 1 v 24-25)
Joseph doesn’t get a lot of mentions in the gospels. Matthew will speak of him in the next chapter and again it is because he has a dream. Joseph seems to receive lots of directions through dreams. But the important thing is he carries out those directions once he wakes up.
Can you imagine how life would be for him and Mary before the son was born? God has burst into their life and changed it forever. Their marriage is unlike any other. He has to learn so many things.
But the story has one vital detail. Joseph got out of the way of the miracle. “… he did not consummate their marriage until …” If this is going to happen then it will be totally without him.
However, he became the adopted father for the child. He risked the difficulties that were before him perhaps the dangers. Maybe those early years were not easy for him, is he really Joseph’s? Conceived out of wedlock? What must their family be thinking? Maybe the gossipers were always before them. People always talk about people.
The point is this: the dream can be perfect but the outworking of that needs courage.
May God give you the courage to be what you need to be so that the dream happens.
Missions Paul 