Matthew 1:18–25

Be Still: Lord, still my heart in your presence today. Open my eyes to see you afresh and my ears to hear you speaking through your Word. Amen 

Read: Matthew 1:18–25

The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel (which means 'God with us'). (v23)

Encounter: Sometimes life has a funny way of throwing us curveballs when we least need them. You can’t find a matching sock when you’re already running late. Your boiler breaks on the coldest week of the year. You finally get cosy in bed and realise you left your phone charger downstairs. You drop your toast and of course it always lands butter side down…

Joseph knew this feeling, only on a far bigger scale. He was preparing for marriage, to settle down to start his life with Mary and boom, curveball, she’s pregnant and he’s not the father. His entire future is turned upside down. But right in the middle of the confusion, an angel of the Lord shows up to reveal this curveball is part of Gods perfect plan. 

What looks like interruption in our lives might actually be God's divine direction. And what feels like everything falling apart or going wrong all at once, might just be the moment God is showing he’s closer than ever and that there is a bigger picture we are yet to realise. ‘They will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God with us'.’ That name changes everything for us; it means we are not alone in the chaos, amidst the curveballs, or when we are struggling to make sense of things. God is working all things together for good.  

Apply: Where do you feel like life has thrown you a curveball? Is there something that hasn’t gone to plan or as you expected or hoped? Bring those things honestly before God and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal glimpses of the bigger picture. Remember his promise – he is Immanuel, God with us, present with you, with each of us, through it all.

Devote: Thank you God that you know the bigger picture for our lives and that we can put our trust in your perfect plans.