DECEMBER 17 WHEN CONFUSING LIFE CHANGE HAPPENS By Terry Mortenson Speaker, Writer, and Researcher, Answers in Genesis Adjunct Faculty, Word of Life Bible Institute
And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. (Luke 2:4–5) Life change happens. Some changes in life are expected. Others are unexpected. Some are sudden. Others are gradual. Some are happy changes. Others bring sorrow and leave us confused with unanswered questions. Some require small lifestyle changes. Others are very life-altering. What do we do when our journey brings life-altering bends in the road? Joseph and Mary had many unexpected, perplexing, and life-altering changes over a three-year period in their young lives related to the birth of Jesus. Both were visited by angels before Mary became pregnant supernaturally. They had to travel by foot (or donkey) about 70 miles from home for a census while Mary was “great with child.” Magi gave them unusual gifts soon after Jesus’s birth. Then, an angel told Joseph in a dream to take his wife and son to Egypt in the middle of the night so Herod would not kill Jesus. Some of these changes were joyful, but some were arduous and dangerous. No doubt they experienced doubts and fears. Joseph (like Mary, Luke 2:19) must have pondered, “What is God doing? What is ahead?” But they trusted and obeyed God. I’ve had plenty of unexpected ups and downs of life as a missionary in Eastern Europe, then as a Ph.D. student, then on staff with Answers in Genesis. Some changes have been very perplexing. None have been as momentous and significant as Mary’s and Joseph’s. But I have struggled with doubts and fears. I, too, have needed to trust and obey our faithful God, especially when life has been confusing and the future very foggy. What about you?
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