Why a Traditional Christmas Part 7

 

 

II. If God interrupts you…get God’s take on the interruption right away.
Joseph could have really blown this one.
Joseph’s knee jerk reaction was to divorce Mary. (vv:19)
*Joe could have embarrassed her, disgraced her socially, had her executed. He chose to divorce her quietly. (Bought her time) because he loved her.

In vv:20-25
Joseph got God’s take on the matter!! Who named Jesus? (Joseph!) Because God told him too, and I’m sure glad Joseph got it!!

2 things happened

(1) He got to marry his sweetheart.

(2) He was honored to have been chosen to raise God’s only begotten Son.

We must Consider God’s take in what happens in our life. We need to look at God’s plan for our lives in a different view. Lots of us won’t even consider seeing God’s hand in our interruptions. (All we see are dashed plans, nixed ideas, disappointments, defeat, and failure) Satan wants you think you are done and there’s no way it can better.  With God all things can get better.

The scripture says “With God all things are possible.” The key is in Mat 6:33-34 “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Here are 3 things that will revolutionize your life to help you gain perspective when your plans are interrupted.

(1) PRAY: Stop & pray. Pray for courage, wisdom, guidance, help...JUST PRAY.
1Th 5:16-19 “Rejoice always, pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit.”

Jas 5:13 “Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise.”

(2) PERSPECTIVE: Put the interruption in proper perspective. How bad is it really? We tend to be catastrophic in our thinking. We spend $100 worth of worry on a $5 problem.

*If your tub doesn’t get scrubbed before company comes over for Christmas, it’s not the end of the world. Celebrating Christ with others is.
Luke 12:22-25 “Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life?”

(3) PROVIDENCE: God is in control. He still has your hairs numbered.

Deut. 32:4 “He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.”

Isa 55:8 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD; As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

Psa 145:17 “The LORD is righteous in all his ways and faithful in all he does.”

Nothing can happen to you without God knowing it.

We can avoid Knee-jerk reactions if we trust God and put our faith in Him. If something happens in our lives, our first reaction should be to ask God what’s going on? Not to take things at face value, but to listen to in the spirit to what God wants. A few years ago I go an infection in my leg that took me to the hospital for over a week. I was very sick. It was before thanksgiving but because of the seriousness of the illness I had to go twice a day to the hospital to sit and get antibiotics put in me till after Christmas. Wasn’t a fun Christmas? But Amy and I asked God why now and what did you have for us?

I love this story…(IL.)There was lady who had nine children; one day she came home from the grocery store and found the house as it usually was. Only quieter. If you are a mom you know what that means…She looked in the living room and saw five of her children sitting in a circle. She put down her groceries and went to get a closer look. Her five adorable children were playing with 5 of the cutest little skunks you’ve ever seen! The mom yelled, "RUN CHILDREN, RUN!" Each child grabbed a skunk and ran in five different directions. The Mother yelled again, "Run, Children." It scared the kids so much they squeezed their skunks. Skunks don’t like to be squeezed. You can imagine the rest.

We don’t have to immediately react with feelings and emotions. I’m not perfect at this but I have trained myself not to react to things with emotions until I’ve spoken to God. If we react improperly we run the chance squeezing the skunk. Don’t squeeze the skunk…check with God first.

Conclusion:

Ever saw or read about the birth of a giraffe? It’s incredible:
The first things to emerge are the baby giraffe’s front hooves and head. A few minutes later the plucky newborn is hurled forth, falls ten feet, and lands on its back. Within seconds, he rolls to an upright position with his legs tucked under his body. From this position he considers the world for the first time and shakes himself. The mother giraffe lowers her head long enough to take a quick look. Then she positions herself directly over the calf. She waits for about a minute, and then she does the most unreasonable thing.

She swings her long, pendulous leg outward and kicks her baby, so that it is sent sprawling head over heels. When it doesn’t get up, the violent process is repeated over and over again. The struggle to rise is momentous. As the baby calf grows tired, the mother kicks it again to stimulate its efforts....Finally, the calf stands for the first time on its wobbly legs. Then the mother giraffe does the most remarkable thing. She kicks it off its feet again.

Why? She wants it to remember how it got up! In the wild, baby giraffes must be able to get up as quickly as possible to stay with the herd, where there is safety. Lions, hyenas, leopards, and wild hunting dogs all enjoy young giraffes, and they’d get it too, if the mother didn’t teach her calf to get up quickly and get on with it! It would die quickly.

This morning don’t squeeze the skunk, and learn to get up quickly and trust God with it. Mary and joseph did and look what God did? Do you trust God this Christmas that things in your life will work out. God might have to nudge you a few times, but in the end, God is working things out.

RO 8:28 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” God is doing that for you and me…amen! God has great things planned for all of us. It’s up to us to trust God and find out what those things are.