Praying vs Controlling

 

Matthew 1:18-20

 

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about:  His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.  Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, no not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

 

 

What do you do when your husband does not cooperate with your plans? 

 

For many women (me included) this is a hard one.  After all, we control most everything else in our households. Why not take control of our husband's "wrong thinking" and set him straight?

 

Take a look at what Mary did and the results that followed:

• She did not manipulate through sex or anything else -  
• she did not attempt to control Joseph's behavior;
• she did not use passive aggression to get her way.

She resolved to obey God - placing her husband-to-be (and his thinking/planning) in God's hands.  It is not said that she prayed for Joseph, but we certainly see evidence of God intervening on her behalf.

 

Praying; trusting the Holy Spirit to invade wrong thinking and redirect anything that is not of Him is really hard.  It requires walking by faith and not by sight.  It requires trusting that God will be our mouth piece.  Sometimes it requires waiting. 

 

But here's the really cool part:  God DID invade Joseph's thinking in a way that was powerful and effective by speaking to him in a dream.  Joseph obeyed God immediately - taking Mary to be his wife.  (Don't you know that Joseph's actions must have thrilled Mary's tender heart?)

 

Finally, Mary and Joseph would be "on the same page" - God's page.   And Mary didn't have to say a word or do anything.