Self Improvement > Inspirational > Joseph, A Broken Man Made Whole
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Article rating : 0.00, 0 votes. Author : Vivian Gordon
It has been said that in order for something to be fixed, it
must first be broken.
"For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power; it is
sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the
dividing line of the breath of life (soul) and the (immortal)
spirit, and of joints and marrow, exposing and sifting and
analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the
heart." Heb. 4:12 (Amplified)
God's word is compared to a very sharp double sided
sword. It's cut goes deep, to the very core of who we are. It
seperates our souls (our minds, will and emotions) from
our spirits. It's here where God exposes our motives. God
can not be fooled by our superficial actions, He knows our
hearts. This is where He convicts us and severs us off from
our sinful nature. Once God brings these things to light in
our spirits, we then become aware of our brokeness and
this is what hurts. This is the broken state He puts us in. We
will get wounded in action if our will does not line up with
His will. It's here where God must break us before He can
heal us. And once He heals us, we will be better than before
in that area.
It's the same process of a wound or a broken bone. Anyone
who has ever recovered from surgery will know that in order
to heal correctly, the wound has to heal from the inside out
or else it's apt to get infected. It's a long slow process but
once it's healed, it's like new. And broken bones are the
same thing, once it's been broken in a certain area, it
becomes stronger and won't break in the exact same spot
again.
I want to use Joseph, the earthly father of our Savior as an
example. He was broken and betrayed and God used this
time to show him that He was in control and could fix it
better than even Jospeh had imagined!
We don't really know much about this man, the Bible doesn't
say too much about him, but when you take the time to
meditate on the words of his part in history, you will see him
in a whole new light, the lesson he teaches us is rich and
meaningful.
The first thing we learn about Joseph in reading the first 16
verses in Matthew is that Joseph came from a royal lineage
from King David. And also that like his ancestor before him,
Joseph no doubt had a heart after God. He was obedient
and loved God. He was upright and righteous before God
and this could be one reason why he was chosen to
represent the father of God's Son. God needed a solid
family foundation for His Son to be born into, just as God
wants this for all His children today. It wouldn't have looked
right for Jesus to be the child of a single parent. So thus,
Joseph was the chosen man for the job. But just as any
normal person, Joseph knew what it felt like to be heart
broken.
We learn in the book of Matthew that Joseph was very much
in love with a young Jewish girl named Mary. Anyone who
has ever been in love for the first time will never forget how
that felt. It's like walking on clouds and as far as you are
concerned, no one else exists in your life. It's simply
wonderful and a joyous time in any person's life.
In those days, people were betrothed to one another before
the actual marriage ceremony, only it was written up as a
legal document. It couldn't be broken like we do today with
engagements. The only way out was to get a divorce. This
document was a legal commitment that the two lovers
would be abstinant and remain faithful to one another.
I can imagine how very happy Joseph must've been, he was
marrying his sweet young love, his life would be complete
and it was falling into place just as he prayed it would. God
was surely blessing him for his obedience.
Then it happened...his world was turned upside down. All
his hopes and dreams were dashed against the rocks. He
got the news that Mary, his betrothed was found to be
pregnant. He knew it was not his child she was carrying so
surely she must've been unfaithful to him. His heart must
have split in two as he heard this devastating news. But God
used him to teach us a valuable lesson today. Instead of
acting out on his own, like many of us would, Joseph sought
the Lord first and found out something that brought him
back to wholeness again.
"Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place under these
circumstances; When His mother Mary had been promised
in marriage to Joseph, before they came together, she was
found to be pregnant (through the power) of the Holy Spirit."
Matt. 1:18 (Amplified)
All Joseph could hear at this point was that Mary was
pregnant and it wasn't his child. Like many of us, he
assumed that she had betrayed him, what else could it be?
She broke his trust. The first thing Joseph intended to do
was get out of this marriage by quietly divorcing her.
"And her promised husband Joseph, being a just and
upright man and not willing to expose her publicly and to
shame and disgrace her, decided to repudiate and dismiss
(divorce) her quietly and secretly." Matt. 1:19 (Amplified)
Jospeh was ready to handle the situation on his own and
we are much like that today. But instead, he did what we all
should do. He sought God first. We tend to think that
either God doesn't care or He just isn't listening so we have
to do something and do it quickly! It's also normal that alot of
folks might have exposed her and put her to shame for what
she did. We like to get instant gratification when the going
gets tough. After all, we've been wronged and so we want
justification on our own moral behalf, no matter what the
cost. But, Joseph didn't do that. He was still an upright and
righteous man before God and he knew that no matter how
badly Mary had broken his heart, it wasn't his place to seek
revenge. He had to handle it God's way. It wasn't Joseph's
intent to bring Mary disgrace, instead he got quiet with God
for counsel.
"But as he was thinking this over, behold an angel of the
Lord appeared to him in a dream saying, Joseph,
descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your
wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit."
Matt. 1:20 (Amplified)
Wow, how relieved he must have felt when he heard that!
But there is one thing about this passage that I want to point
out. In order for an angel to appear, I think he had to have
been doing a little more than just "thinking" it over. He had to
have been deep in prayer with God. The scripture says the
angel came to him in a dream. I also don't think that Joseph
just fell asleep either. He may have been in a dream state, a
place of coming to God in intamacy, into the Holy of Holies
if you will. God was his main focus and he was asking
God for an answer.
The Hebrew word for "dream" is keh-seh, which means,
"appointed time". This dream that Joseph had, was God's
appointed time to give him the glad tidings. If Joseph had
not sought after God at that time, he no doubt would've
missed the blessing that God had for him. If Joseph had
acted out on his own, he would've been out of God's order
and thus changed the whole course of history. Think about
that for a minute.
When God tells us to seek Him first in all righteousness, He
will add everything else we need to our lives. (Mt. 6:33) And
this is exactly what happened to Joseph!
Since Joseph was obedient and went to God first, God
answered him through an angel that told him everything
was fine, it was just as God had intended it to be. The child
that Mary was carrying was not an act of betrayal, it was the
coming Messiah that was prophesied earlier by Isaiah.
What a complete feeling of humbleness and anointing that
must have come over Joseph when he learned of this.
"Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign; Behold a
young woman who is unmarried and a virgin shall conceive
and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel (God
with us)." Is. 7:14 (Amplified)
So when Joseph heard the angel tell him the same thing he
must've jumped for joy!!!
"She will bear a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus
(meaning Savior). For He will save people from their sins.
All this took place that it might be fulfilled which the Lord had
spoken through the prophet." Matt. 1:21,22 (Amplifed)
Imagine, Joseph a quiet and humble caprpenter from
Nazareth was going to be the father of Christ!
"Then Joseph, being aroused from his sleep, did as the
angel of the Lord had commanded him, he took her to be
his wife." Matt. 1:24 (Amplified)
When God speaks to us today, we know that it is more than
just a dream. He reveals His ways to us through dreams
and visions, not our imagination. God had chosen Joseph
for this appointed time in history. We should examine
ourselves more closely and ask God to heal us of our
brokeness for His glory because we have been chosen for
such a time as this, there are reasons behind His actions
and it's not for us to take the wheel or else we will hinder our
blessings and who knows, we could be altering our
destinies and the destinies of others because of our pride,
self righteousness and self pity. Learn to embrace your
brokeness and when you are healed, you will be all that
much better for it, when you seek God first!!!
Remember, when things are looking down, always look up
and ask the One who truly knows.
Vivian Gordon an inspired freelance writer of inspirational
and spiritual messages from the Holy Spirit is praying that
they will touch lives with the messages from God. It is her
prayer that God will touch the lives of broken people and
make them whole.
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