When doubt meets faith…
This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet 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, do not be afraid 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 people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and 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 did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
Matthew 1:18-25 NIV
Up to this point in our Christmas musings, we have not looked at Joseph, “adoptive” earthly father of Jesus. Though Joseph was “faithful to the law”, he was obviously not just doggedly following the points of Jewish law but had the compassionate heart of God. Rather than accuse Mary of adultery and have her stoned when she was found to be pregnant before the marriage, he planned to divorce her quietly (Jewish engagements being much closer to marriage in terms of serious commitment). Of course, he doubted Mary’s story. I suspect he was feeling hurt, angry, confused, embarrassed, and a myriad of other emotions as he was sure that he had been betrayed.
Yet, when God gave Joseph a dream confirming what Mary had told him, he trusted God’s plan despite doubt and social pressure. It sounds easy, but I’m sure that it was not. Small village gossip. His own questions. His faith had to have been very strong for him to hold tightly to what had been revealed to him in a dream. Though he may not have fully understood that Jesus was the prophesied Savior of both Israel and the world, he knew that this was God’s plan for his family. Because of his obedience, he married Mary and became Jesus earthly father.
Is it natural and normal to sometimes have doubts? Yes. Yet faith can have its way in us if we too let God help us through our doubts. Just as we have a choice to choose which path to walk on when hiking, we also have the choice to choose faith over doubt.
