People in this season seem to be in a perpetual state of motion as they frantically move from one holiday event or plan to another. The schedule becomes so complex that there is little flexibility in people’s plans for anything to be added or even adjusted because the “holiday schedule juggernaut” must plow through to fulfill our agenda. One dare not get sick for one needs to be in top form and have their full faculties to get through “the holidays.” A friend or family member knows better than to share a burden right now sensing that individuals’ listening ears are more attuned to bargain sale opportunities than to broken hearts or bewildered minds. The National Weather Service dare not issue a winter storm warning because one has no time for cancellations or delays. Heaven forbid a person loses their shopping list that has been masterfully crafted to deliver a significant gift at minimal cost and marginal investment. Peace on earth and good will toward men will have to wait. Such a thought may be entertained after the Christmas season has past. Maybe in January it can be penciled in to the calendar.
In this season it would be well for us to realize that God does not run the world by our agendas. Joseph, the virgin Mary’s soon-to-be husband, illustrates this reality. Matthew’s gospel records that he was a man who had a personal agenda laid out before him. Mary was “pledged to be married” to him. In all likelihood this meant that betrothal arrangements had been completed, promises had been made, and the anticipation of a peaceful life with Mary was firmly lodged and perhaps idealized in his mind. Mary likely became the passion of his life. He looked forward to a wedding celebration and feast that culminated in his marriage to Mary. Perhaps God would bless them in the future with a baby – maybe even a boy to join in his carpentry business. God then alters Joseph’s agenda in a supernatural, unexplainable, and incomprehensible way. How does he adjust to the agenda-altering intervention of God?
At first Joseph did what we all tend to do when our agendas are interrupted. He tries to fix things and make the best of a bad situation. His inclination was not to approach God for direction or understanding. He assumes that if his dream cannot be realized, he needs to dispose of the perceived nightmare he currently faces and embrace a new dream. He wanted do the best he could in these difficult circumstances and chose the option of not exposing Mary “to public disgrace” but “to divorce her quietly.”
God again steps into his life with another agenda – His agenda. God does not fully explain all of the details of the unimaginable and the inexplicable. He just assures Joseph that what was happening was not a product of unrighteousness but an act of a holy God. God reveals that he had an agenda that was far greater and significantly larger than what Joseph had or could ever imagine. God discloses that the pregnancy of Mary was a result of a divine act that had a divine plan attached to it. God’s agenda was to involve a virgin who would deliver to planet earth, Immanuel – meaning “God with us.” This One that Mary would bring into the world “will save his people from their sins.”
How one responds to God’s alteration of their agenda says a lot about them. Joseph’s response was to adjust his agenda and to allow God’s agenda to dominate his attitude and actions. Matthew records Joseph “took Mary to be his wife.” The completeness of his obedience to God’s agenda was reflected in the words, “He had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.” In summary, God’s agenda became Joseph’s. Joseph responded with faith and not frustration when his agenda was altered.
Faith propels us to accept God’s agenda without conditions or demands. Oswald Sanders writes, “Patience is more than endurance. A saint's life is in the hands of God like a bow and arrow in the hands of an archer. God is aiming at something the saint cannot see…Trust yourself in God's hands…Faith is not a pathetic sentiment, but robust vigorous confidence built on the fact that God is holy love. You cannot see Him just now, you cannot understand what He is doing, but you know Him…Faith is the heroic effort of your life, [flinging] yourself in reckless confidence on God. God has ventured all in Jesus Christ to save us, now He wants us to venture our all in abandoned confidence in Him.”
In this hectic season let God adjust your agenda. See it not as an inconvenience but a “reckless confidence” that “God is aiming at something you cannot see.” Make room for God to use you as a listening ear, a comforting presence, a caring person, and becoming a person who is available for the Lord to use to manifest His presence in this world. Then you can sing in all honesty, “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas!”
