Something old and something new
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit.
19 And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly.
20 But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
21 She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
22 Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.”
24 And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife,
25 but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.
- Matthew 1:18-25 NASB
I learned something new this year from reading Matthew chapter 1. Through this God has opened my eyes to something that I feel I have been learning all year long - maybe longer. I mean, you can read the bible 50,000 times and you still learn something new and different each time you read it. So I wanted to share what I have learned and what I feel the Lord has pressed on my heart and I hope it encourages you as well.
On Christmas Eve my pastor said this, “You don't have to understand the plan, to trust God has a purpose.” When I heard that, it resinated with me. I began to put into perceptive the significance of when the Savior of the world was born. That simple phrase has really encouraged me so much. Mary and Joesph decided to trust God in the middle of an interruption, but it was a CRAZY HUGE INTERRUPTION. Mary was a young girl who was engaged and saving herself for marriage. She suddenly gets pregnant. Ladies can you imagine? I surely can’t, I would of been so mad and frustrated asking God why ME God?!! Then to tell your fiancé what is happening, that would of been even more crazier for him to believe you. Durning that time period the law allowed Joesph the right to not wed Mary and instead send her away secretly. Joesph decided to be obedient to the Lord and marry her even though he did not understand what was going on.
Thinking about all of that, Joesph and Mary decide to be obedient to God even when nothing made sense. They had a huge interruption not knowing they we were going to be parents of the Savior of this world, until Mary got pregnant. God had much bigger plans for them. The Lord plans will forever and ever be greater than any of our plans and following Him doesn't make life easy by any means, but He knows so much better than we ever could. The Lord knows exactly what we need and when we need it. I guess what I am saying with all of this is, if you feel that little nudge on your heart and it wont go away it might be God asking you do something. Being obedient to the Lord doesn't change the fact that it probably might be some of the most terrifying things you will ever have to do, but remember you’re not doing it on your own. Being obedient to the Lord you cannot foresee what that will do for you or all the people around you.
Joseph and Mary were just two people and God decided to use them. You will never know how God can use you, unless you deiced to be obedient and follow Him! The Lord is so so much bigger than our plans! My prayer for 2018 is that I can step out of fear and anxiety and step into whatever God has for me. That does not change the fact it might be scary, but it is about being obedient to the Lord no matter the interruption. Life is always going to throw stuff at you, it’s a matter of willingness and stepping out in faith in order to trust God!
I am so glad that I finally stepped up and created a website this year. Having a blog has allowed me to really share what has been on my heart and I hope it encourages you. I still have a lot to learn and I’m still figuring it out all out. I pray though for ever single person who comes to my website and reads these blog posts. Cheers to 2018, I am excited to see what God will do with bobbynatalia.com and expectant of some awesome things this new year. Cheers to more blogging! If you have any requests or ideas or thoughts etc. for what you would like to see on my website for 2018 please leave a comment below, I would love to hear. You can also tweet me or DM on Instagram I would love to chat with you:)
