“Heading to Egypt!”

“Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” (Matthew 2:13 ESV)

This is one of the first examples of God’s sovereignty that we find in Matthew. God, knowing what was on King Herod’s heart, told Joseph to leave Bethlehem with Jesus and Mary, and to go to Egypt for their safety. This is amazing to me, and all too often, I’m too busy looking at the details of a situation and trying to figure out the tactical plan that I completely miss the strategic picture.

You see, God had already planned what needed to happen, when it needed to happen, why it needed to happen, and where He wanted to send them; everything was under control. God is not surprised by a “King’s heart”! God knows the hearts of everyone, even kings, and actually we read in Proverbs 21:1 “The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will.” (ESV), or as the KJV renders it “The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD…”.

All too many times, we look at our lives and think “things are spinning out of control”, but in reality, many times, “things are not falling apart; they are falling into place” (Remember the contemporary song “Just Be Held” by Casting Crowns). God is in control, and in that, we can find peace and comfort that whatever comes our way, our God is in control.

Can you imagine what was going through Joseph’s mind? The three Magi had just finished their visit to his son Jesus, where they brought gifts that were appropriate for a King. The day they left, they did not return home through Jerusalem as they had come, but were warned by God in a dream to take another route home. So, I would think as they bid farewell to Joseph, Mary, and baby Jesus, the Magi told them about the dream and wished all of them well.

Now, all that day, I would think that Joseph was wondering what their “dream” was all about, why would God warn these Magi, these non-Jews, not to return to Jerusalem and meet with King Herod, what was going on? Then, that night, Joseph also had a visit from an “angel of the Lord” in a dream to warn him that things were going to get a bit crazy because of King Herod and that Joseph needed to get his family out of the area and travel to Egypt for safety.

Many times, we do not understand all the “how comes and whys” of God’s plans for our lives. I’m sure this plan left many questions in Joseph and Mary’s minds, just like his Word sometimes does for us today.  But they had a choice: they could obey God and do as He directed, or they could go it on their own.

We have that same choice today in our lives. As we read God’s Word, and we understand what it says about how we can bring honor and glory to our Savior, we can say “because I don’t know and don’t understand everything that God knows, I’m not going to follow His Word.” Or we can rest in the truth that “our God has this under control” and trust Him and His Word. The choice is ours, just like it was for Joseph and Mary, to listen, trust, and obey God’s Word.

Believer, let's take this lesson on God’s sovereignty: He knows details that haven’t been disclosed to us yet, and we can trust Him and His Word. Let’s “pack up and head to Egypt”, or wherever else He wants us to go.

"Living in Grace is not about what I can do, but about what Jesus has already done!"