Have you experienced a decree stating you are to do something you would rather not do? Did it come from upper management at your place of work? Was it a government mandate you didn’t agree with? What was your reaction? How did the mandate work out in the end?
We sometimes wonder how upper management came to a decision that passed down a mandate that simply doesn’t make sense to us. We gripe and grumble about it. We may be tempted to ignore it. Yet, in the end, we often have no choice but to obey it.
We may discover much later that the mandate was done for a reason, and it worked to the good of the company or country. We didn’t foresee how it would play out. We thought it didn’t make sense. But perhaps months or years later, it made complete sense. As we reflect on how it worked and the good that came from it, we see what upper management saw when they instituted it.
I’m sure Mary and Joseph were not thrilled about the mandate Emperor Augustus handed down. They may have thought it would have been fine if it had come a few months earlier or a few months later. The timing was not right for Mary to travel about one-hundred miles. On the other hand, they may have had purer thoughts, thinking that God was in control and there was a reason for the mandate. As it turned out, God did have a reason for the mandate.
Prophecy stated the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem, the city of David. Both Mary and Joseph were descended from the line of David. Therefore, they were required to travel to Bethlehem to be counted in the census. The timing was perfect. Jesus was born exactly where God intended Him to be born.
We can learn a lesson from Mary and Joseph’s experience. God is in control. His timing is impeccable. We may not understand it until much later. But make no mistake about it, God is executing his plan in our midst. Much like Mary and Joseph, we merely need to trust in God and obey the mandates passed down to us.
I pray we all learn the lesson of Mary and Joseph. I pray we trust that God is executing his plan. I pray each one of us will obey mandates, go where we are called, and do what we are called to do. Learn from Mary and Joseph. Trust God is in control. Know God has impeccable timing. Hold on to your faith.
Luke 2:1 In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered.
Marty Pressey 