Plan B...

As I sit at the kitchen table this morning and look out our patio window, I gaze upon cloudy skies that grow darker by the minute as the next set of a series of winter storms is supposed to produce heavy rain early this afternoon.  I also observe the trees swaying under the effects of the adverse weather, along with the occasional flutter of leaves that seemingly fill the sky when the stronger gusts of wind sweep through the neighborhood.  This complete turnaround to the warm fall weather that we had been experiencing triggered some memories of some other unusual weather conditions that we have seen over the last few years. 

One of the strangest to me was the dust storm that occurred early in our stay in Oklahoma.  As the summer wind picked up, the blue sky and just about everything else on the ground rapidly turned brown.  It was almost as if someone had drawn the old fashion brown pull blinds in my Paternal Grandmother’s home in the middle of the day!  The only object you could discern in the sky was the dirty orange glow of the sun. 

Then there was the ice storm during our second winter there.  It was an indescribable scene as everything from the trees, the mailboxes and the roads were coated with a fairly thick layer of ice.  Our immediate neighborhood was very new with many homes still in various stages of construction, so there were no mature trees anywhere to be seen… until you drove out of the development.  Then you were greeted with another eerie sight as many of the branches on the stately old trees that lined the country road had simply cracked and broken off from the weight of the ice.  This process continued and even grew worse for the next few days as the cold weather persisted.  It actually looked to me as if the area had been the victim of an aerial bombing raid!  It literally took the city years to clean up all the debris.  Then there were the tornado warnings and the sounding of the sirens mounted on the light poles throughout the area.

All of these thoughts of adverse weather made me to consider the various weather induced conditions that Mary and Joseph must have faced as they traveled from their home town to the city of Bethlehem in order to comply with the governor’s census edict.  No one really knows what things they faced, but many stories and songs have been written telling of their possible hardships.  Never-the-less, it is not difficult for one to imagine how uncomfortable Mary must have been riding on the back of a donkey as they traversed the rough, uneven roadways.  Joseph also must have been quite miserable and anxious as he tried his best to make the trip as smooth as possible for his pregnant fiancée.

I can easily sympathize with Joseph as he hovered about Mary in a protective mode, desperately trying to keep one step ahead of the adversities they faced.  It is a similar mode that I live in right now with my wife and her physical condition, as I attempt to stay constantly vigilant in watching over her every move so that she does not run into harm’s way.

In the end, Mary and Joseph were successful in their journey and the story had a happy ending, one whose benefits that we all reap today!  But think for a moment, what would have happened if they gave up and turned back to the warmth and security of their homes in Nazareth?  What if Joseph got to the end of his rope when they were told that there was no room in the inn, blew his stack, turned up his nose to the governor and headed the donkey back in the direction from which they had just come?

If they had deviated from the plan in any way, shape or form, then the ancient prophecies would not have been fulfilled, Jesus’ job would not have been completed and God would have had to call for an emergency meeting of the counsel of the Trinity and the angelic hosts to come up with a “Plan B!”  No!  Thank God that Mary and Joseph stood strong under all the pressures and saw their task through to the glorious climax as the army of angelic hosts appeared in the field to the shepherds and sang “Glory to God in the highest!” (Luke 2:14 KJV) 

The same could be said for the journeys that each of us are called to walk in our daily lives.  We face the same decisions that Mary and Joseph did.  The circumstances may be totally different, but the question to push on through the hard times or to turn tail and run are the same!  Will we choose to persevere and win the prize that God has for us, or fall short and quit before the victory?

 

Philippians 4:6-7 encourages us to “Never worry about anything.  But in every situation let God know what you need in prayers and requests while giving thanks.  Then God’s peace, which goes (far) beyond anything we can imagine, will guard your thoughts and emotions through Christ Jesus.”  (God’s Word ©)  While I investigated some of the original meanings and intents of the words used in this verse, I came across a couple of interesting statements.  Both came from Thayer’s Greek Definitions of the word “guard.”  One thought likened the peace that we can experience as we obey this verse as being “protected by a military guard to prevent hostile invasion, or to keep the inhabitants of a besieged city from flight.”  There are many lessons that you can take from this added understanding, but the one that stood out to me was the thought of God’s peace helping you to stay strong and protected within the walls of His love and care until the attack is over.  The idea of one fleeing from a besieged city gave me the picture of the individual becoming an easy target to be picked off as soon as he or she left the protection of the city walls.

The other statement was where Thayer says that metaphorically speaking. God’s peace is on guard “to keep one under the control of the Word that, no matter what is going on, we stay within the reaches and authority of His power!"  That’s definitely where Mary and Joseph were, and it is also the best place for you and me!  So don’t allow the hustle and bustle of the busyness of the Holiday Season get you down this year.  Stay in His peace, under the protection of His Word and you’ll come through with flying colors!  Have a great day!  Stay in tune to His Word, and keep asking yourself… “What am I expecting today?”