Joseph was perplexed. Mary, his wife, had told him that she was pregnant but, the baby wasn’t his. It couldn’t be his, because they hadn’t come together and consummated the marriage. Mary said, it was God’s child and she was the virgin who had conceived in her womb. Joseph wasn’t buying it. He started thinking how he could annul the marriage, but quietly, so as not to bring shame to Mary.
Finally, he now had some time to think, because Mary had gone to be with her cousin Elizabeth, who also happened to be mysteriously with child in her old age. As Joseph sat and thought about all this, he began to become quiet. He loved Mary. To lie was not like her, but even if this was true what did this mean for him? The stepfather to God’s Son? It was crazy, ludicrous, absurd. How could this be?
Then the Lord appeared to Joseph 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. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.” Matthew 1:20, 21
Imagine if Joseph had jumped to a conclusion, rushed to a decision about Mary and not pondered what to do? Mary might have had to raise Jesus as a single mother, instead of in the covering and love of Joseph. When life throws us a curve, we have to quiet ourselves to know what to do. When God comes, and God always will come when we wait on Him, He will address our fears, explain where we are, and what we are to do.
When God appears and speaks: He allays our fears, explains away our concerns, and gives us confidence to act.
