Angels • Devotion 5

The Directions of Others
Ferdinand Sanders

“Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.’ And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, ‘Out of Egypt I called my son.’” Matthew‬ ‭2:13-15‬ ‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

If there is one thing that truly makes it a holiday, it is getting together with the family. Whether it is across the country or across the street, there is just something unique when you have people from different generations, all with diverse interests, crammed under one roof. If there is one thing that is always heightened when the family all gets together, it is those generational differences! Though they genuinely love and care for each other, most of the time one generation has no clue what the other is even talking about, and vice versa! One thing that seems to separate the older generation from the younger is a “sense of direction.” I have always been intrigued with the fascination of questioning “which route I took,” which is inevitably followed by which route I should have or could have taken. (Seriously, who gives more thought than just throwing the address into the GPS and following the prompts!?) How many times do we see the younger generation reject or push away direction because, of course, “They are misunderstood and know better.” In the story of Jesus’ birth, we see an angel of the Lord appear to Joseph in a dream to give direction both in a literal sense and also for his protection.

I promise you this, we simply do not give Joseph enough credit. Yes, I know Jesus is the biggest and main character of all time, but put yourself in Joseph’s shoes (sandals) for a second. Life is seemingly going well when all of a sudden angels are manifesting themselves in your dreams to inform you that:
 
1. Your significant other/wife, Mary, is with Child (and you are not the father).
2. You are to raise the child that will end up becoming the Savior of the world.
3. King Herod is plotting to destroy (kill) anything that poses a “threat” to his rule.

I cannot imagine exactly what Joseph was going through mentally and emotionally, but as a fellow guy, I can imagine it came with a lot of doubts, questions, fear, and anxiety.

The angel in this story is no more than just the messenger. He is not the originator of the plans and is not able to provide any additional context or information. I do find it humorous that these interactions take place in dreams, where dialogue is not a thing! Joseph cannot talk back or ask any clarifying questions. I do not know about you, but that is not typically how I would prefer these kinds of life-impacting conversations to go! Joseph is a great example of putting our humanity aside - our doubts, fears, preferences, anxieties - and putting faith in God’s sovereign plan. Though maybe it seems that he did not have much of a choice in the matter, he heard the direction given to him and chose to listen and follow it. Does God still send messages and use messengers in the same exact way today? Maybe? I am not sure. I do, however, believe that God uses those around us to help support, encourage, guide, and ultimately “direct” us on our journey.

“Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.” Proverbs 11:14