Pastor's December Article

As they walked, his thoughts focused on the future. Would he be able to raise this child? In a dream, an angel said that this child was God’s son. Mary said the same thing. Even though he didn’t completely understand, one thing he knew, if he was going to make it through this, he would have to trust God.

It was the beginning of a journey back home, but it was more than that. Wanting to be in control seems to be, if not a human quality, at least a tendency. We try to garner control in a variety of ways. Some of us demand it. Some of us manipulate for it. Some of us are passive aggressive. In the end, it is all about being in control, or at least feeling like we are in control.

When control is taken from our hands, we feel uneasy. We may lash out at others. We may demand that we be listened to, obeyed, taken seriously, or perhaps we try to take matters into our own hands.

Maybe one of the things Joseph had to learn was simply to let go. He was not in control of this situation. He had nothing to do with the pregnancy. He had nothing to do with this journey. He could have tried to gain control back by walking away from the situation. He could have simply left Mary and the crazy stories, but he chose not too. Instead, he trusted God.

Trust is the first step toward home. Trust is the first step toward God. We try so hard to be in control, but it is a deceptive dream. We are not in control. We can fight, manipulate, demand, and desire all we want, but in the end, we are not in control. Life is really out of our hands. We may have the appearance of being in control, but in an instant, that facade can be destroyed.

The Good News is that we can trust God. He is faithful and he loves! Perhaps this Advent season you can begin your journey home. Perhaps you can learn to trust. To trust in God’s love. To trust that there is nowhere you can roam where his love cannot reach. To trust that the best place to be is in the center of God’s will and love. To trust that God is in control so you don’t have to be. That is what Joseph discovered.

Hopefully this Advent season we can discover the same thing. Perhaps what the world needs now is to rediscover this journey by rediscovering Christmas. The Advent series this year is called re:Christmas. Maybe it is time for all of us to rediscover Christmas: Rediscover Hope, peace, joy, love, and worship. Each week during Advent we will take a look at these qualities of Christmas and hopefully, we will take the first step of the journey.

Peace,

David.