Faithful And True

This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: “I called my Son out of Egypt.”

Matthew 2:15

God always keeps his word—always.

We all find ourselves in times when chaos seems to reign and our situations feel out of control. It must have seemed that way to Joseph—newly married under less-than-optimal conditions, away from familiar surroundings, and having to navigate the treacherous waters of intrigue and danger. He must have felt that all the experiences that recently had defined his life were sweeping him up in a tidal wave. Who could have planned ahead for a middle-of-the-night escape to Egypt?

But how events look and feel at the time is almost never the true picture. God knows every tremor long before a tidal wave forms. Things are never out of his control. He is shaping events in a way that will highlight his faithfulness.

Joseph followed God one step at a time and found himself in Egypt, a place he never thought he would call home. But he settled in and waited until the next summons came. Do you imagine that between the times when the guiding voice of the living God was clear and Joseph’s faith was strong, Joseph wondered when and how, and even if? Do you suppose you might have looked at those circumstances and wondered, Did I make a mistake? Is God really guiding me?

Step back and see how God is telling the story. He is doing as he promised he would do. He spoke his intentions generations before and did not vary one iota from his plan. No matter how things might appear on the surface, God is always working out his purpose in his way, in his time. His promises will not fail. If your circumstances seem to be running on their own steam with no escape in sight, take another look through the prism of God’s promises and know that everything is proceeding under God’s careful management.

Lord, I believe that you are working everything out for your own good purposes. I trust in your love for me and in your power to do all you have promised.

You cooperate with the immediate inevitable because you know that in and through things God’s will is being worked out.

E. Stanley Jones(1884–1973), American missionary and theologian