December 21: It's All or Nothing

December 21:

Matthew 1:18-25 “This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.  Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.  But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph son of David, to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.  She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his do not be afraid people from their sins.’  All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:  ‘The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"--which means, "God with us.’ When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.  But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.”

I have a decision to make. 

Two years ago, one of my New Year’s Resolutions was to start volunteering again.  While my kids were in high school and involved in activities, I cut way back in volunteer service, but I know that, for me, it is a necessary part of a thriving spiritual life. 

For the past year, God has been nudging me to get involved with victims of human/sex trafficking.  Years ago, we had a teacher’s inservice on it, and that was my introduction to the topic.  A former student has spent the last few years in traveling the world on various missions trips.  Last year, she was in the Philippines.  Her team’s specific objective was to visit bars and talk to prostitutes, to try to convince them to leave that life.  Intrigued by the mission, I followed her blog.  Even then, I was feeling the nudge from God to get involved.

Within the past year, God has been strategically placing people and circumstances in my path to coax me a bit further.  First, I read a couple articles in the local newspaper about the topic. Then, my son’s former girlfriend texted me, and of all the topics we could have discussed, that one came up because a friend of hers was doing a research paper on it. God kept dropping these little reminders into my life in an effort to bring my focus back to where He wanted.

Finally (Praise God that He is patient with me), I conceded. About two months ago, I sent a cold email to a place called Heartland Girls Ranch.  The Ranch provides programming, specifically with horse therapy, for troubled girls.  These girls, ages 12-21, struggle with all sorts of issues: truancy, chemical dependency, PTSD, etc.  A few months ago, they added a special, new program to rehabilitate, you guessed it, victims of human/sex trafficking, which is why I sent the email.  I finally caved and told God, “Ok, I get it.  I will contact them.  I am not sure where You want this to go, but I will be obedient.”

So, I emailed the volunteer coordinator, explaining very specifically that I was trying to be obedient to God’s call.  I figured that she would dismiss me as a religious weirdo, but I wanted to be very straightforward and transparent about my purpose. Fortunately, the coordinator is a believer (and, as I later discovered, several staff are), so my email didn’t scare her off.  About two weeks ago, I met with her, and this past week, I got an email from her, requesting that I come out sometime during Christmas Break to hang out with the girls and maybe lead an activity.

The only thing that has been holding me back is the distance. Even though there are several volunteer opportunities within the city in in which I live, this is the one with which I feel God really wants me to get involved.  Even so, the Heartland Girls Ranch is about 45 minutes from my home.  If I decide to start volunteering, this is going to be a huge commitment of time and gas.  Since my husband is losing his job soon, and we have two kids in college, I am a little leery about racking up extra expenses. That said, I have to let the coordinator know by Monday.

In today’s passage, Joseph has a hefty decision to make as well.  His fiancé, Mary, is pregnant, and the kid is not his. Joseph has, in fact, had no sexual relations with her, so I can easily imagine his disappointment at the betrayal.  If ever there was an excuse for revenge, this was it. However, rather than publicly humiliate Mary, Joseph decides to take the “high road” and be the better person.  He just wants to just divorce her quietly to save face for both of them.  His plan, however, is interrupted by an enigmatic dream. An angel tells him to plow through with Plan A. The angel gives the back story and explains what Joseph’s next actions should be.

I try to imagine what the scene must have looked like when Joseph awakened.  As he rubbed his eyes and sat at the edge of his bed, he was at a crossroads and needed to decide whether or not to follow the angel’s advice.  After all, there were no tangible, written plans.  He had merely been advised by an angel in a dream.  To obey or not to obey?

Let’s face it. Heeding the angel’s advice would be illogical by the world’s standards.  First, it was a dream.  Dreams are not reality; they are fantastical creations of the mind.  Second, the command was issued by an angel.  Come on, isn’t an angel about as realistic and believable as a garden gnome or a fairy? Third and worst of all (assuming this angel is legit), obedience would mean the hardest road of all. This choice would mean public humiliation, embarrassment, and disgrace – all of which are completely unjustified.  It would make no sense for Joseph to follow through with the angel’s command.

And yet he did.

“When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife” (Luke 1:25).

Even though it didn’t make any sense according to worldly logic, Joseph not only acknowledged the vision for what it was – a prescient message from God; he obeyed without question. Just as I admire Mary’s fearlessness, I also admire Joseph’s steadfast faith. There are  myriad reasons, and justifiable ones, why Joseph could have walked away and let Mary face the tidal wave alone, but Joseph remained faithful not only to her, but also to his Lord.

The lesson is pretty clear here.  If Joseph can obey even though it cost him his reputation, I definitely can obey when it will cost me a little gas money.  I will be sending the coordinator an email just as soon as I am done with this piece.  Faith is one of those all-or-nothing deals, and I am all in. There really is no other choice for believers.

James 1:2-4 “² Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,^[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. ⁴ Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”


Romans 8:28 “²⁸ And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who^[a] have been called according to his purpose.”


Challenge: Be someone’s cheerleader today. You can always see someone who needs encouragement.  Be the encourager.