Our Christmas Story: An Ordinary Plan

Ahh!! We’re back! Cora, how could you leave us in such a dark place like that?! I promise! I have a reason!

So, quick recap. (If you missed it, check out Part One, An Ordinary Man, here!) Joseph is our forgotten Christmas character. He was an ordinary man with an ordinary plan, and Mary stepped in, shattering his hopes and dreams for a simple life with a godly wife. (Whoa, chill on the rhymes. 😉 Sorry, my bad, y’all! I just get so excited!)

We last left poor Joseph in shock and misery. His heart his broken and his reputation is hanging on by a thread. His life is falling apart at the seams. He’s letting Mary live, but he wants nothing to do with her. He’s cried out to God and probably asking a thousand questions in the dark of night, wondering what went wrong.

You ever been there? I have.

Joseph wanted to have a family, not be responsible for one Mary decided to start without him. He wanted to build a home and teach his kids carpentry. It would have been so easy. If Mary had just stayed true! Joseph could have had his dream…an ordinary life. He could have had all he wanted.

But Joseph had also wanted to please God. And more than that, I believe God wanted to draw Joseph even closer to Him. God wanted Joseph to learn to trust Him. And what better way to do that than to give him the opportunity to lean on God in his time of need?

Now, Joseph could have reacted in a number of ways if you think about it. I think hurt is definitely one of them. I think confused and worried are up there, too. But one way I don’t see Joseph reacting is in anger. He could have shaken his fist at God and written Him off. He could have walked out on God and said God was untrue or evil or something like that because Joseph didn’t get what he wanted. He could have done a lot of things that he didn’t.

I imagine Joseph went home, wondering why his life was spinning out of control and how he could best course correct. He probably spent that first night on his knees with is face buried in his bed and his shoulders shaking hard. Wordless prayers are powerful ones.

God knows our deepest hurts, our fears, our desires, our ordinary plans. And He’s big enough to handle them all. Furthermore, He’s big enough to handle it when we don’t react like Joseph! When we’re angry and bitter and when we question Him. God can handle that, too. And when we face trials, when we choose to cry out to God, He hears us. He comforts us in our time of need and He draws us nearer to Him. That’s how we learn to trust in Him, to lean on Him.

Joseph had a plan, a good one at that! Work hard. Build a house. Marry a pretty girl with a good heart. Start a family. Raise some kids. Visit the grandparents. Maybe build Mary’s ma a rocking chair and his son a wooden horse to ride. Live a quiet life, out of the drama spotlight. Pay his taxes, keep his head down, stay out of trouble, love his family, serve his God, right? But God’s funny that way. If you ask to serve Him, He’ll put you to work. Just…not the way you think.

You see, Joseph had a plan. But so did God. But God’s plan wasn’t ordinary. Not like Joseph’s. No, God had a calling on Joseph’s life. He knew things Joseph couldn’t imagine. He gave Joseph the choice, the opportunity to play a part in His plan. He set this up from the very beginning! His provision was in place even before Joseph hit his knees.

And despite the plan Joseph had, that ordinary plan, God wanted better for Joseph. He wanted Joseph to live deeply. He wanted to make him a man who loved deeply and who trusted deeply. Joseph could have had his simple life, his ordinary plan with his ordinary wife in the little, ordinary town of Nazareth. He could have built that house and lived out his dreams, but he never would have learned the depths of God’s love. Not in the same way God desired to show Joseph. 

God knew Joseph’s pain—His own children have betrayed Him and rejected Him, and yet He has loved us. But God also knew the end of the story, and Joseph did not. We have the finished manuscript, but Joseph walked right in the middle of the messy fear and hopeless storm. His eyes dimmed in the dark. But his heart never left God.

Joseph faced mighty trials—and they didn’t stop after Jesus was born either! He faced some pretty dark storms, but God used those dark skies for good, for His good and His glory. God offered Joseph a chance, a chance at a life that wasn’t the ordinary one he’d planned. God challenged Joseph to live a life in which God called the shots, a life where God led Joseph and directed his steps, even when he couldn’t see. And because Joseph was a righteous man, he heard God’s voice and he followed God’s call.

Despite what his eyes told him. Despite the pain, the betrayal, the rejection, and the grief. Despite what the community yelled and despite the stone they thrust into his hands, Joseph took Mary as his wife and he raised Jesus as his son. Wow.

But Joseph did more than just hear and know God’s voice. He obeyed. (Matt. 1:24)

Joseph faced the consequences with Mary. He stood by her side, endured the mockery, and tossed his reputation to the wind. Joseph chose to stand by his word, to wed Mary, and to raise the child He knew was not his. He adopted the Son of God! Can you imagine?! Joseph heard God, but then he did what He said. He chose to trust God. And that is what changed His life.

Now, how much more amazing is Joseph’s life with God’s blessings than the ordinary plan Joseph had concocted in his head? Do you see where I’m going with this? Joseph wanted a simple life, an ordinary life with no scandals or betrayals and late nights worried about why he wasn’t good enough for Mary or what God was doing to him.

Joseph had a plan. He was an ordinary man. But plans change. God steps in. We can’t see the end of the story. Not yet. Our stories are still being written. And, lemme tell ya, God is one heck of an author. His plans are not ordinary. They are far beyond anything we can imagine. And they are good. They are designed to give us full lives, deep lives.

We may have to walk through the darkest of storms, but take heart. Take God’s hand. Obey his call. Live in righteousness and hear His voice. God will not leave you. Especially not in your darkest hour. He’s already planned this out. He’s got the map and key. He just needs you to trust Him, to believe that He knows what’s best, and to rest in His promises.

God had promised the Israelites a Messiah, a Savior. Joseph knew that promise. And when angels came to him in a dream, Joseph rested in that promise—literally! Joseph heard God’s call (Matt. 1:20-23) and he recognized God’s voice. We, too, need to know God’s voice. We need to know His word so that when He calls, we can respond. God is not silent today. He still speaks. His word is alive, and every time you pick it up, you can find something new, something applicable, something tailored specifically to your life. God doesn’t dream of an ordinary life for you.

He has plans to prosper you, to bless you beyond your wildest dreams. He sees things we do not and when the dark closes in, we have to know—and I mean know deep down in the core of who we are, who He created us to be—that God’s got this. He’s got us.

You know? Funny enough, Joseph got what he wanted all along. It came in a different package, a gift he never expected, but he got that godly wife and a wonderful life. In fact, he got more than he bargained for. He had an up close and personal relationship with God—and I’m not just talking about changing dirty diapers here. Joseph got to see how God moved and worked in his and Mary’s life together. He got to watch God grow and mold him into the man God made him to be. He got to serve God with all his heart. Joseph got to live a life full of riches he never would have imagined. And so can we.

Love always,
Coralie