That night Joseph left for Egypt with the child and Mary, his mother, and they stayed there until Herod’s death. This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: “I called my Son out of Egypt.”
So Joseph got up and returned to the land of Israel with Jesus and his mother. But when he learned that the new ruler of Judea was Herod’s son Archelaus, he was afraid to go there.
Then, after being warned in a dream, he left for the region of Galilee.
~Matthew 2:14, 15, 21, 22 (NLT)
As human beings we don’t like to submit. We want to do things our way. We want to do our own thing. We don’t like the S-word. Yet Joseph’s story is a great reminder of the power of submission.
- That night…Joseph immediately submitted.
- Stayed until Herod’s death…Joseph patiently submitted.
- Joseph got up and returned…Joseph consistently submitted.
- He left for the region of Galilee…Joseph sacrificially submitted.
Submitting to God’s will always costs something. Joseph didn’t go back to his hometown. The one thing Joseph had going for himself was that he was a descendent of King David. But he did not take Jesus back home to claim that birthright. He took Jesus to the home of his in-laws. Galilee was a place that people thought, “nothing good ever comes from there!”
Near the end we often fizzle out. “I’ve given enough! I want to do something for me.” May we be more like Joseph. May we immediately, patiently, consistently and sacrificially submit ourselves to our Heavenly Father!