THINK THINGS THROUGH

When Jesus was born, there was a lot of hullabaloo. No one understood or could comprehend Mary’s story—that the baby in her womb wasn’t a product of a sexual relationship with any man. I can imagine family, friends, enemies, those whom the matter concerned, and busybodies who were just looking for something to gossip about, telling Joseph to immediately end his relationship with Mary.

But the Bible tells us something profound—something that anyone who wants to be properly guided when making decisions should pay close attention to:

“But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit'” (Matthew 1:20).

Joseph took time to think before he acted. It was while Joseph was thinking, reflecting, considering, and evaluating the pros and cons of the different options and choices to make that God spoke to him. Joseph didn’t allow anyone to push, pressurize, and coax him into making a decision. Joseph didn’t do the first thing that came to his mind; he didn’t make a rash, impulsive, spur-of-the-moment decision.

Joseph created an atmosphere for God to speak to him and guide him aright by thinking deeply and carefully before taking a decision.

Let’s take a minute today to reflect on how we make decisions:

Are our decisions based on what is popular or what is trending?

Are our decisions something someone somewhere pressurized and forced us to do?

Are our decisions things we do on a whim, without considering the consequences of our actions?

We must resist the urge to be pushed, pressured and coaxed into making decisions.

May God help us to daily create an atmosphere for Him to lead, guide, and direct us. May God help us to think things through before taking action.