SCRIPTURE READING: MATTHEW 1: 18-25
FOCUS: “Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:” (Matthew 1: 24)
MEMORY VERSE: “If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:” (Isaiah 1: 19)
Our Focal Scripture speaks of how Joseph rose from his sleep and did as the Angel of the Lord had told him to do. Joseph got a revelation from God and that first revelation was about basic compliance to divine instruction. In Matthew 2, God revealed to Joseph to take the child (Jesus) and His mother and run to Egypt because Herod was against them. The second instruction was about safety. Joseph obeyed the first divine instruction and he got a second instruction about safety.
Friend, if you fail to obey the first instructions God gave you, how will He give you instructions for your safety? If you fail to obey God in matters that are not very ‘serious’, how will He speak to you about weightier matters? If you fail to develop a culture of obedience to God in matters that are not big, how will He freely instruct you in major destiny matters? If you fail to adapt to divine direction when the stakes are not high, how will you get divine direction when the stakes become really high?
Normalize doing the right thing with God no matter how little the stakes are. Normalize obeying God in small matters. Normalize obeying God in matters that are not enough to wreak any havoc in your life. Normalize obeying divine instruction even when you seem able to do without it. Normalize obedience to divine instruction even when you do not have much to lose. Normalize obedience to God even when it seems too insignificant.
The same God who instructed Joseph by divine revelation in Matthew 1, also showed up to save him by divine revelation in Matthew 2. Put differently, obedience to divine instruction made way for more divine instruction that saved Joseph and his generation. Your obedience to current divine instructions will open the door for future divine instructions. Your obedience to God in small matters is an indication that you will obey in big issues.
Don’t make the mistake of disobeying God in small matters and expect Him to show up to direct you in big matters. Don’t disobey God in insignificant matters and expect Him to save you by divine revelation.
FURTHER READING: ISAIAH 1
DECLARATION:
- I choose obedience to divine instruction, in Jesus’ name!
