Be Still And Know

Matthew 1.20 NLT As Joseph 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.” This account is so familiar to us that we need to take a moment to try to imagine what the experience must have been like for Joseph. In all probability he would have been in his 20s and Mary may well have been a teenager. He was clearly a good man and he took his Jewish faith very seriously. His decision to end the relationship quietly was understandable but he must have been experiencing a riot of emotions. He was thinking of Mary, himself, his family’s name and reputation and his desire to do what God wanted. As he turned over these things in his mind he had a dream in which he was addressed with his family title. He was Joseph, belonging to the line of the great King David. In the dream he was told not to be fearful but to take Mary as his wife because the baby was a