Coming to Terms with God's Plan

In today's Gospel (Matthew 1:18-25) we see the Angel coming to Joseph to assure him that the child within Mary's womb was not of man, but of God.  Wow!  This must had been a real shocker for Joseph.  And he chose to believe - he chose to follow God's Plan.  He did not turn his back to the call. I'm sure he was still skeptical  - not of the child's origins, but of his (Joseph's) role and purpose to the plan.  He did not know, God was calling him to protect Mary and the child, to stand in between them and sin until they were strong enough to do it for themselves.  It is why will will hear of the Angel coming again to Joseph, after Jesus' birth, to warn him to take the child and Mary to Egypt and when it was safe return home.

This has made me wonder, how many times have I turned away from God's Plan?  I know, we have never been told that the way of God would be a cake walk - just look at Joseph and Mary.  They followed and trusted God - their lives were constantly tested, but they stood firm.  There are times when God calls us to do something that will be difficult or uncomfortable.  And we find ourselves questioning.

"This could not be what God means for me, why would God choose this for me, how am I expected to live this life?"

It is true, God can and does ask big things of us.  Some can be so heart wrenching, we have no idea how to survive them, but survive we must and in turn our faith will grow.  The of glory of God is that he has already given us the life line we need to keep our heads above the troubled waters.  God has given to us his son, his only holy son.

When we put our doubts aside as Joseph did, and simply allow our faith in God to provide us the courage to let go and absolutely TRUST in the Father, we will find the true joy of our God.  It's going to take effort, we may feel that we are lost and our efforts are of no consequences.  We may not see God's goal for this path he as put us on, but that is when our faith will lead us on.

St Therese' has taught us, when we recognize and embrace our littleness, we are recognizing God's greatness.

Ask the Holy Spirit today to grant us the faith and courage you need to come to terms with God's plan for you, and to help you to take each step along the way.