It has been said that in order for something to be fixed, it must first be broken. "For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power; it is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the breath of life (soul) and the (immortal) spirit, and of joints and marrow, exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart." Heb. 4:12 (Amplified) God's word is compared to a very sharp double sided sword. It's cut goes deep, to the very core of who we are. It seperates our souls (our minds, will and emotions) from our spirits. It's here where God exposes our motives. God can not be fooled by our superficial actions, He knows our hearts. This is where He convicts us and severs us off from our sinful nature. Once God brings these things to light in our spirits, we then become aware of our brokeness and this is what hurts. This is the broken state He puts us in. We will get wounded in action if our will does not line up with His will. It's here where God must break us before He can heal us. And once He heals us, we will be better than before in that area. It's the same process of a wound or a broken bone. Anyone who has ever recovered from surgery will know that in order to heal correctly, the wound has to heal from the inside out or else it's apt to get infected. It's a long slow process but once it's healed, it's like new. And broken bones are the same thing, once it's been broken in a certain area, it becomes stronger and won't break in the exact same spot again. I want to use Joseph, the earthly father of our Savior as an example. He was broken and betrayed and God used this time to show him that He was in control and could fix it better than even Jospeh had imagined! We don't really know much about this man, the Bible doesn't say too much about him, but when you take the time to meditate on the words of his part in history, you will see him in a whole new light, the lesson he teaches us is rich and meaningful. The first thing we learn about Joseph in reading the first 16 verses in Matthew is that Joseph came from a royal lineage from King David. And also that like his ancestor before him, Joseph no doubt had a heart after God. He was obedient and loved God. He was upright and righteous before God and this could be one reason why he was chosen to represent the father of God's Son. God needed a solid family foundation for His Son to be born into, just as God wants this for all His children today. It wouldn't have looked right for Jesus to be the child of a single parent. So thus, Joseph was the chosen man for the job. But just as any normal person, Joseph knew what it felt like to be heart broken. We learn in the book of Matthew that Joseph was very much in love with a young Jewish girl named Mary. Anyone who has ever been in love for the first time will never forget how that felt. It's like walking on clouds and as far as you are concerned, no one else exists in your life. It's simply wonderful and a joyous time in any person's life. In those days, people were betrothed to one another before the actual marriage ceremony, only it was written up as a legal document. It couldn't be broken like we do today with engagements. The only way out was to get a divorce. This document was a legal commitment that the two lovers would be abstinant and remain faithful to one another. I can imagine how very happy Joseph must've been, he was marrying his sweet young love, his life would be complete and it was falling into place just as he prayed it would. God was surely blessing him for his obedience. Then it happened...his world was turned upside down. All his hopes and dreams were dashed against the rocks. He got the news that Mary, his betrothed was found to be pregnant. He knew it was not his child she was carrying so surely she must've been unfaithful to him. His heart must have split in two as he heard this devastating news. But God used him to teach us a valuable lesson today. Instead of acting out on his own, like many of us would, Joseph sought the Lord first and found out something that brought him back to wholeness again. "Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place under these circumstances; When His mother Mary had been promised in marriage to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be pregnant (through the power) of the Holy Spirit." Matt. 1:18 (Amplified) All Joseph could hear at this point was that Mary was pregnant and it wasn't his child. Like many of us, he assumed that she had betrayed him, what else could it be? She broke his trust. The first thing Joseph intended to do was get out of this marriage by quietly divorcing her. "And her promised husband Joseph, being a just and upright man and not willing to expose her publicly and to shame and disgrace her, decided to repudiate and dismiss (divorce) her quietly and secretly." Matt. 1:19 (Amplified) Jospeh was ready to handle the situation on his own and we are much like that today. But instead, he did what we all should do. He sought God first. We tend to think that either God doesn't care or He just isn't listening so we have to do something and do it quickly! It's also normal that alot of folks might have exposed her and put her to shame for what she did. We like to get instant gratification when the going gets tough. After all, we've been wronged and so we want justification on our own moral behalf, no matter what the cost. But, Joseph didn't do that. He was still an upright and righteous man before God and he knew that no matter how badly Mary had broken his heart, it wasn't his place to seek revenge. He had to handle it God's way. It wasn't Joseph's intent to bring Mary disgrace, instead he got quiet with God for counsel. "But as he was thinking this over, behold an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream saying, Joseph, descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit." Matt. 1:20 (Amplified) Wow, how relieved he must have felt when he heard that! But there is one thing about this passage that I want to point out. In order for an angel to appear, I think he had to have been doing a little more than just "thinking" it over. He had to have been deep in prayer with God. The scripture says the angel came to him in a dream. I also don't think that Joseph just fell asleep either. He may have been in a dream state, a place of coming to God in intamacy, into the Holy of Holies if you will. God was his main focus and he was asking God for an answer. The Hebrew word for "dream" is keh-seh, which means, "appointed time". This dream that Joseph had, was God's appointed time to give him the glad tidings. If Joseph had not sought after God at that time, he no doubt would've missed the blessing that God had for him. If Joseph had acted out on his own, he would've been out of God's order and thus changed the whole course of history. Think about that for a minute. When God tells us to seek Him first in all righteousness, He will add everything else we need to our lives. (Mt. 6:33) And this is exactly what happened to Joseph! Since Joseph was obedient and went to God first, God answered him through an angel that told him everything was fine, it was just as God had intended it to be. The child that Mary was carrying was not an act of betrayal, it was the coming Messiah that was prophesied earlier by Isaiah. What a complete feeling of humbleness and anointing that must have come over Joseph when he learned of this. "Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign; Behold a young woman who is unmarried and a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel (God with us)." Is. 7:14 (Amplified) So when Joseph heard the angel tell him the same thing he must've jumped for joy!!! "She will bear a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus (meaning Savior). For He will save people from their sins. All this took place that it might be fulfilled which the Lord had spoken through the prophet." Matt. 1:21,22 (Amplifed) Imagine, Joseph a quiet and humble caprpenter from Nazareth was going to be the father of Christ! "Then Joseph, being aroused from his sleep, did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him, he took her to be his wife." Matt. 1:24 (Amplified) When God speaks to us today, we know that it is more than just a dream. He reveals His ways to us through dreams and visions, not our imagination. God had chosen Joseph for this appointed time in history. We should examine ourselves more closely and ask God to heal us of our brokeness for His glory because we have been chosen for such a time as this, there are reasons behind His actions and it's not for us to take the wheel or else we will hinder our blessings and who knows, we could be altering our destinies and the destinies of others because of our pride, self righteousness and self pity. Learn to embrace your brokeness and when you are healed, you will be all that much better for it, when you seek God first!!! Remember, when things are looking down, always look up and ask the One who truly knows. |
