When God’s plan for your life makes you uncomfortable.

In Matthew 2, the story begins with the wisemen coming to see Herod asking about the new born king. Herod pretends to not know and asks them to come back when they find the baby (Jesus). What happens after, gives us a pretty good idea of what it can be like when God calls you, and not based on the wisemen’s experience but, that of Mary and Joseph.

1. Mary was probably about to be disowned, ridiculed, and maybe even stoned to death.

Mat 1:18 This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Mat 1:19 Joseph, her fiance, was a good man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.

Mat 1:20 As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. "Joseph, son of David," the angel said, "do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit.

When she received her assignment she was not sure of what would happened. It was not only a big deal to give birth to the King of kings but, it was also supernatural!

2. Jesus suffered persecution, even from before he was born.

Mat 2:13 After the wise men were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up! Flee to Egypt with the child and His mother," the angel said. "Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is going to search for the child to kill Him."

Mat 2:14 That night Joseph left for Egypt with the child and Mary, His mother,

Mat 2:15 and they stayed there until Herod's death.

We tend to minimize the struggle that Jesus went through just because he was the son of God. The reality of it is, is that from the moment he was conceived He and his earthly family suffered persecution of all kinds, from death threats to simple accusations of violation of the Sabbath.

3. Moses waited for 40+ years before God revealed himself as the burning bush

Act 7:30 "Forty years later, in the desert near Mount Sinai, an angel appeared to Moses in the flame of a burning bush.

Act 7:31 When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight. As he went to take a closer look, the voice of the LORD called out to him,

We often forget that after Christ’s death and resurrection, we have direct entrance into God’s presence. Moses had to wait 40 years to get a supernatural manifestation of God. His ancestors did not even see the promised land, not even from afar.

How easy is it for us now? and why do we complain when things deviate at the slightest from “our” plans?

Humans have a thing for control; it is what has lead to so many struggles of power and war. The moment we no longer have control, our lives tend to spiral down into endless chaos.

God chose you, God chose me. He gave us the ability to choose, and the ability to handle anything that may come to us because of our calling. He created us with the ability to withstand even the harshest of persecutions, and some things are designed to break us. God pushes us out of our comfort of what is known to us and within our control. But we are never alone. He allows things in order to carry us, be our light, and guidance. He wants to be our support and help and He looks at every crossroad for an opportunity to manifest His power through our life.

My encouragement for you today is, to trust God with your calling. Men do not call you to ministry; God himself does. A very wise man of God used to say, “Whom God calls, he equips.” Practice allowing God to have control of the small things, this will lead to allowing God control of the big things in your life and consequently He himself, will manifest greatly through you.

In Christ,

-Andy