Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Today in bible study we began studying through the book of Matthew, we are studying one chapter at a time, which has allowed me to really think deeply of what I am reading and comprehending. Today as we went through the first
chapter of Matthew and I was struck with some thoughts I’d like to share with you!
As women we are often taught about the “women of the bible” which is very important, but today I want to share something a little different. I want to share with you what I learned as a woman while studying the life of Joseph.
`Before Mary and Joseph were married Mary was found to be pregnant. We are told this story in Matthew 1:18-25. In this short amount of scripture we learn that Joseph had the following qualities: he was gracious, obedient, faithful, humble, trusting, loving, protective, constant, had a gentle spirit,
and was a man of integrity. Joseph CHOSE his conduct and how he would carry himself after finding out his betrothed was with child. In verse 19 we are told that Joseph was a “just man, unwilling to put her to shame, so he resolved to divorce her quietly.” In that time a woman in Mary’s situation most likely would have been stoned to death but Joseph cared enough about this woman he loved to not allow that to happen.
Then an Angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream telling him to “not fear, take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.” Joseph did just that. He made a choice… He CHOSE to trust his Heavenly Father. Joseph decided to love his wife, to take the persecution, rumors and difficulties bound to come his way. When it would have been easier,
and more convenient for him to run away, he chose to have bold faith in his Father.
It is hard for me to think of this and relate it to our culture here (or anywhere for that matter). We live in a world where, if there are problems, we don’t fix them. In the DR it is especially bad. Women are forced to be silent, men have a wife and a girlfriend at the same time and sometimes men have completely separate families with different women. The difference between the Dominican culture and that of other countries is, men don’t care that their wives know this. In other countries people have separate lives, but in secret, and in other cultures it is not always dominated by JUST men who live this way. But here in the DR it is. Women accept this and do not regard themselves as deserving of more. Mary is an example to all of us as women. She had to have had some fear in knowing that when she told Joseph of her pregnancy there was the possibility of death. But like Joseph she trusted in God and loved him with all her heart and soul as we are commanded to in Deuteronomy 6:5 “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your
might.”
You see, Mary was deserving of a man like Joseph. Every woman is deserving of a Joseph, someone who will love God more than himself, someone who, when told by God to trust, will do just that. Joseph didn’t walk away when trials came, he didn’t give up when it came time for him to flee to Bethlehem. In my opinion, this should open our eyes to a whole new way as to what our
Father has in store for us. We are taught through this that God our Father has a hand (a huge hand) in who we chose to live our lives with, if we let him lead our path. We as people just have to learn to trust, learn to regard ourselves as children of a King and learn to love our God more than ourselves. In the book The Culture of God’s Kingdom Nick Wilson tells us “There is no guarantee that God will give us all the things we want, but Scripture promises us that He will bless us with the Character we
need.” Just as he gave Joseph the character he’d need for his life. Just as he gives US the character we need to serve him daily, whether it be in the way WE want or not.
This culture is hard for me to grasp, knowing women’s fear of men and knowing how women are looked down on. No woman deserves to live in fear of the reaction of their significant other. Women may trust in the plan of our Father, but do we trust enough to be patient! As a single woman, living in another country, I am called to be patient. It may not be the way I WANT, but I called to wait upon the Lord for a Joseph. Women— remember, you are beautiful, loved, valuable, precious, deserving, strong, sought after, worthy….. You are Daughters of a King and deserve nothing less than a Joseph!!!
Today in bible study we began studying through the book of Matthew, we are studying one chapter at a time, which has allowed me to really think deeply of what I am reading and comprehending. Today as we went through the first
chapter of Matthew and I was struck with some thoughts I’d like to share with you!
As women we are often taught about the “women of the bible” which is very important, but today I want to share something a little different. I want to share with you what I learned as a woman while studying the life of Joseph.
`Before Mary and Joseph were married Mary was found to be pregnant. We are told this story in Matthew 1:18-25. In this short amount of scripture we learn that Joseph had the following qualities: he was gracious, obedient, faithful, humble, trusting, loving, protective, constant, had a gentle spirit,
and was a man of integrity. Joseph CHOSE his conduct and how he would carry himself after finding out his betrothed was with child. In verse 19 we are told that Joseph was a “just man, unwilling to put her to shame, so he resolved to divorce her quietly.” In that time a woman in Mary’s situation most likely would have been stoned to death but Joseph cared enough about this woman he loved to not allow that to happen.
Then an Angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream telling him to “not fear, take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.” Joseph did just that. He made a choice… He CHOSE to trust his Heavenly Father. Joseph decided to love his wife, to take the persecution, rumors and difficulties bound to come his way. When it would have been easier,
and more convenient for him to run away, he chose to have bold faith in his Father.
It is hard for me to think of this and relate it to our culture here (or anywhere for that matter). We live in a world where, if there are problems, we don’t fix them. In the DR it is especially bad. Women are forced to be silent, men have a wife and a girlfriend at the same time and sometimes men have completely separate families with different women. The difference between the Dominican culture and that of other countries is, men don’t care that their wives know this. In other countries people have separate lives, but in secret, and in other cultures it is not always dominated by JUST men who live this way. But here in the DR it is. Women accept this and do not regard themselves as deserving of more. Mary is an example to all of us as women. She had to have had some fear in knowing that when she told Joseph of her pregnancy there was the possibility of death. But like Joseph she trusted in God and loved him with all her heart and soul as we are commanded to in Deuteronomy 6:5 “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your
might.”
You see, Mary was deserving of a man like Joseph. Every woman is deserving of a Joseph, someone who will love God more than himself, someone who, when told by God to trust, will do just that. Joseph didn’t walk away when trials came, he didn’t give up when it came time for him to flee to Bethlehem. In my opinion, this should open our eyes to a whole new way as to what our
Father has in store for us. We are taught through this that God our Father has a hand (a huge hand) in who we chose to live our lives with, if we let him lead our path. We as people just have to learn to trust, learn to regard ourselves as children of a King and learn to love our God more than ourselves. In the book The Culture of God’s Kingdom Nick Wilson tells us “There is no guarantee that God will give us all the things we want, but Scripture promises us that He will bless us with the Character we
need.” Just as he gave Joseph the character he’d need for his life. Just as he gives US the character we need to serve him daily, whether it be in the way WE want or not.
This culture is hard for me to grasp, knowing women’s fear of men and knowing how women are looked down on. No woman deserves to live in fear of the reaction of their significant other. Women may trust in the plan of our Father, but do we trust enough to be patient! As a single woman, living in another country, I am called to be patient. It may not be the way I WANT, but I called to wait upon the Lord for a Joseph. Women— remember, you are beautiful, loved, valuable, precious, deserving, strong, sought after, worthy….. You are Daughters of a King and deserve nothing less than a Joseph!!!