“But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 1:20).

The first thing that the Angel of the Lord said to Joseph was his name and then “Fear not.” Think of what was going through Joseph’s mind and heart.  Moral purity and keeping one’s self for the marriage partner was very important in the time of Christ (and should be today as well!) The worst thing that could happen would not be the death of the fiancé. It would be the unfaithfulness of the fiancé. Mary was “found” with child. Joseph thought the worst. The angel told him the best. I need to be careful not to jump to conclusions and think the worst. How about you?

For today: I am going to ask the Lord to help me not to “lean on my own understanding, but in all my ways acknowledge Him” (Proverbs 3:5-6).