The year comes to an end today and a new year begins tomorrow. In the past year, we have experienced celebration and we have experienced grief. We have experienced life and we have experienced death. We have experienced dreams come true and the nightmares we want to avoid. Yet, in all the ups and downs of the year, we have witnessed the presence of God with us.
The new year brings new opportunities to experience the Lord’s presence in our lives in new ways. In the Christmas celebration, we sometimes look past the necessity of Joseph to hear the voice of the Lord to escape the hatred and anger of Herod. We jump from Jesus born in the manger to Epiphany and the baptism of the Lord, leaving behind the faithfulness of God, the obedience of Joseph, and the reality of God’s plan being fulfilled.
In Matthew 2:13-23, we read on three occasions words like, “This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet” (vv. 15, 17, 23).
Herod was angry because the Magi did not report to him where the King of the Jews was born. He called for all the children two years old and under to be killed. The angel of the Lord spoke to Joseph, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you” (v 13). Joseph is obedient to the Lord’s voice. He takes Mary and the baby to Egypt, which establishes the image of Moses leading the people out of Egypt to be applied to Jesus leading us out of captivity to sin.
Mary, Joseph, and Jesus are believed to spend about three to four years in Egypt before the angel of the Lord spoke again to Joseph to return to Israel. Joseph obeys, but experienced fear because Herod’s tyrannical son is in charge. Joseph is warned in a dream to go to Nazareth, so Joseph is obedient and goes to Nazareth, which Matthew states fulfills a prophetic message, though we are unable to word for word find the quotation.
God had a plan. God fulfilled the plan through the necessity to flee evil. Joseph obeys and he and the family are protected. The same God with a plan is the same God who fulfills His promises in our lives today. God was faithful. God is faithful. God will be faithful. The Lord’s track record of faithfulness moves us toward the fulfillment of His promises. If God has made a promise, God will fulfill the promise. We can live our lives knowing He is faithful.
The invitation for us today is to trust the Lord in all experiences of our lives. God continues to speak into our lives as we pray, read Scripture, and in times of rest. We are invited to listen and to be obedient when God speaks. As we come to this New Year, I pray you will find space each day to seek the Lord who hears and answers.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for your faithfulness. Fulfill your promises in my life as seek to be obedient each day. In Jesus’ name. Amen.