Matthew 1:18-21
Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.  Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily.  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 Ghost.  And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

It looked like a bad situation, but appearances can be deceiving.  The child Joseph thought to be illegitimate was actually the Son of God, the most precious child to ever come into the world.  And Joseph had been entrusted with this wife and this baby.  This was about something so much bigger than just Mary and Joseph’s relationship.  God’s plan of salvation hinged on Mary bringing this child into the world.

God is often in things and behind things that may appear one way on the surface but actually turn out to be something much different than we thought they would be.  Here was Joseph engaged to a woman found with child not of her husband.  It would have been a scandal.  Impropriety would have been assumed.  There was probably a lot of fallout from that.  But it was actually the Christ child, the Messiah that all of Israel, even the whole world, had been waiting for.

And when Joseph knew that this was of God, he could go forward with confidence and approach this situation in a different way.  Now he was not minded to put Mary away, but to take her unto himself and guard her, protect her, care for her, provide for her, ensure her safety as she carried this child and eventually brought Him into the world.  From then on, Joseph could have the assurance that God was in this and God would be with him every step of the way.

In the end, Joseph could do what was right to do, despite how it looked on the outside.  When Joseph trusted God and believed Him, then he could move forward with confidence no matter what might happen.  The same is true for us.  A certainty in God and what He says, a complete trust in His words, promises, and truths allows us to do things we may not otherwise do.  An assurance that God is involved in our situation in a way we hadn’t seen before can give us the confidence to approach it with a new perspective and a new attitude.  And believing that God is involved in whatever we may be dealing with can give us the encouragement and strength we need to keep going.