• This class is way over my head; why should I bother trying to keep up?
• Why was I given such a difficult assignment?
• My marriage is not what I bargained for nor is raising children, it’s just too hard!
• If I have to pack one more box and be uprooted again…

Have you ever grumbled against what God has allowed?

I have freely shared my complaints over the years, but God has always been faithful to lovingly nudge me back onto the right path. One way He does this is through the books I read. One book in particular is The Original Christmas Carol written by my pastor, Stephen Davey. When I first purchased this little gem the Christmas of 2018, I knew it would be a favorite to explore each Christmas thereafter.

To ponder Mary’s surrender to our Lord comes naturally but to consider what Joseph may have been dealing with is all together a different approach to the Christmas story and one I really have never searched out. However, Pastor Davey gives a powerful overview of Joseph demonstrating – The Nature of Surrender:

“What a whirlwind!

Joseph no doubt longed for the quiet village life he once knew. While he may have wanted life to go back to the way it had been in Nazareth, he knew that would never happen.

The will of God would be inconvenient, uncomfortable, surprising, dangerous, tiring, confusing, and demanding. Farewell, Joseph, to the bliss of a quiet life.

What has God asked you to surrender for His Son? Joseph responded with affirmation when God asked him to sacrifice his pride and his privacy.

Surrender of Personal Priorities

‘She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.’ Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which translated means, ‘God with us.’ (Matthew 1:21-23)

…Joseph would be responsible to care for and train the Savior.

No doubt Joseph would struggle with a great sense of inadequacy. Where’s the parenting manual for raising the Messiah?

Here was a man who had little if any formal education, yet he would be responsible to educate the greatest educator of all time.

The Jewish customs regarding the education of children were fairly clear. We know that from the time a boy turned three till he reached the age of twelve, the father was responsible to pass down to him the traditions, customs, ordinances, and laws of God. What an intimidating assignment this was for Joseph. We must understand that Jesus’ mind wasn’t already downloaded with biblical software. Luke tells us that he grew in wisdom (Luke 2:40, 52).

I can imagine Joseph saying, ‘Me? God, You want me to teach the prophecies of Scripture to the One who is the fulfillment of prophecy? You want me to teach the law to the One who will fulfill the law? You want me to teach the system of worship and sacrifices to the One who is the final sacrifice? Why not Joseph of Arimathea? Why me, Joseph of Nazareth?’

We know from history that both Josephs lived at the same time in Israel. Joseph of Arimathea was a wealthy man, able to afford tutors for his children. He was a member of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish supreme court; he knew the law like the back of his hand. The Bible tells us that he was also a righteous man, looking for the kingdom of God (Luke 23:50-51; Mark 15:43). He would have made a great father for the Messiah.

Did the names somehow get switched? No. Just as God chose who your parents would be and who your children would be, God chose Joseph of Nazareth and a teenage girl named Mary to raise Jesus, the Messiah.”

“What has God asked YOU to surrender for His Son?”

Something I must remember – it isn’t a one-time event; it is a daily practice! May God help us!