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." And he rose and took the Child and His mother by night and departed to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod. (Matthew 2:13-15a)

Look at how much trust God put in Joseph! God trusted him with Jesus' safety. He spoke to him in a dream to warn him about Herod's plans, and Joseph listened. He got Jesus and Mary safely out of the country, and took care of them there until it was safe to come home again.

What a huge responsibility! I wonder if Joseph ever lay awake thinking about it. There he was, an ordinary man, acting as father and protector to God's own Son. How would he ever manage to do the job right?

You may be thinking much the same thing about some responsibility God has saddled you with right now. "How in the world am I going to do this?" you wonder. "Why would God choose me to handle this situation? I'm just ordinary!"

And of course, you are right. But God is right, too—because He puts His Holy Spirit within you to strengthen and guide you. He knows your weaknesses—they are exactly why Jesus came to be your Savior. He knows you cannot do anything on your own. But He also knows that, with God working through you, amazing things can happen. Trust in Him.

THE PRAYER: Father, help me with the work You have given me to do. Amen.

Reflection Questions:

* What do you think Joseph did when he was worried or troubled?

* When have you felt like you were not enough to deal with a situation?

* How has God helped you in those times?

Advent Devotions were written by Dr. Kari Vo.

Today's Bible Readings: Genesis 10-12    Matthew 4

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