A Believing Heart

Luke 1:45 "Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!"

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, 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 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."

Yesterday we talked about Mary's willingness to do what God asked of her, despite public humiliation. Today let's focus on her response as well as Joseph's. We find in the scripture from Luke that Mary was considered blessed because she believed what was told of her by the angel. We also see Joseph's response as well. When Joseph woke up he did what the angel of the Lord commanded him. He believed what was told him in his dream and he acted on it - right away, without hesitation.

How do you do with believing? In most situations I do well. But there are times when I am praying and believing for something to happen....and I find myself waiting, and waiting, and waiting some more. During those times I may begin to question. "Did I really hear God telling me to do such and such?" or I wait for a time and think that perhaps I need to step in and do something to help get the answer a little faster. My husband would say that I struggle with patience.

I look at Mary and Joseph's response. They both believed. Mary wouldn't have seen evidence of her pregnancy right away, but she still believed. Joseph could have just thought his dream was simply that - a dream, and ignore the prompting of the Lord. But instead, they both chose to believe - to trust God with the outcome.

Perhaps you are in a situation right now where God is calling you to just trust and believe Him. For the past six months my husband has been facing a rough experience on a daily basis. From time to time we think there might be relief in sight. We have to trust and believe that God has us where He wants us, even when the future is unknown and uncertain. I pray that we will be blessed by our faithfulness of believing and trusting in God.

ACTIVITY

Talk to your children, or someone you know, about your experiences with believing and trusting.

PRAYER

Lord, help me to learn more in the area of believing and trusting You. Help me to remember that You have my best interest in mind for me. In Jesus' name, Amen.