“After they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to look for the child to kill him.” Then he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and went to Egypt. He stayed there until Herod did. In the way what was spoke by the Lord through the prophet was fulfilled: “I called my Son out of Egypt.” Matthew 2:13-15 NET
“When Israel was a child, then I loved him and called My son out of Egypt.” Hosea 11:1
“After Herod had died an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt saying, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child’s life are dead.” So he got up and took the child and his mother and returned to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Achelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. After being warned in a dream, he went to the regions of Galilee. He came to a town called Nazareth and lived there. Then what had been spoken by the prophets was fulfilled, that Jesus would be called a Nazarene.” Matthew 2:19-23
“So when Joseph and Mary had performed everything according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth.” Luke 2:39
“Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the law, and the prophets also wrote about – Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Nathanael replied, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ Philip replied, “Come and See.” John 1:45-56
“And the crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee.” Matthew 21:11
“Now in those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan River.” Mark 1:9
“Your eyes saw me when I was inside the womb. All the days ordained for me were recorded in your scroll before one of them came into existence.” Psalms 139:16
I like to Dora the Explorer my way around new cities. I know that all roads lead to somewhere. I am pretty good navigationally. The only time I am navigationally challenged is coming out of hotel rooms. Invariably I turn the wrong direction coming out of my room. My husband is fine with it. He lets me wander off going the wrong way. This is our modus operandi. I go the wrong direction. He waits for me by the door. I turn and see he is not following me but is ready to head the right way toward the elevator. I do not know how that happens to me every time we check into a hotel, but it is like my biological GPS just switches off. Now get me into the outdoors. North South East West just comes to me. And boy if you ever let me see a map of the city I am in. Katie bar the door. I am spot on being your navigational guide. I like to see the big picture. I like to see what suburbs lie in the North or what mountain ranges border the west. You catch my drift. I visit Addis Ababa Ethiopia quite often. I have never been shown a map of the city, therefore I have to make landmarks so I can know where I am at all the time. I don’t drive in Addis. No way that would be dangerous for me. We have a driver, and I have my landmarks. The problem with this is sometimes we circle the same landmark over and over again. I do not know how that happens. I do know though that when I pass the muddy area where all the people are washing cars manually, that is when I am about to turn into the Bole district of Addis where the feeding center is. I do know when I pass all the shepherds with their goat herds I am on the right road to head to the homes of IAMNOT4GOTTEN MINISTRIES. Any way my point being, I like to know that I am on the right road, and in a perfect world, I would like to see the big picture of the map of my life so that I can know the road I am now on is leading me down the path God has for me. That is my perfect world. That is what makes me feel safe and secure. That is what keeps anxiety at bay for me.
But guess what? Life isn’t perfect. Life is full of detours. Sometimes those detours are God-made detours. Sometime those detours are man-made detours. And sometimes those detours are self-made detours. I have taken those self-made detours a time or two in my life, but I have discovered the juncture I find myself in at this point in time is the intersection of my self-made paths and the path God has marked out for my life. Every event, every action, and every road taken has led me to this point. I also know God will not waste any road or road block or detour. Everything has made me into who I am today. Jesus has led to mountaintops; He has been with me in the valleys; and He has walked me through the valley of the shadow of death. As I said before, “All roads lead somewhere.” All those roads I have taken have led me here to this point of writing this post. Yes this post is for me. Sometimes I just don’t get to see the whole map. Sometimes I just gotta trust this path will lead me to God.
My verse for today:
“Oh, that we might know the LORD! Let us press on to know him. He will respond to us as surely as the arrival of dawn or the coming of rains in early spring.” Hosea 6:3 NLT
“So let us acknowledge him! Let us seek to acknowledge the LORD! He will come to our rescue as certainly as the appearance of the dawn, as certainly as the winter rain comes, as certainly as the spring rain that waters the land.” Hosea 6:3 NET
If I want to know if I am on the right path God has for me, I just need to ask myself this one question, “Am I doing all I can to press on to KNOW HIM MORE?” “Am I pursuing and chasing after God to know Him by experience, personally mind, body, spirit, and heart?’
For Joseph, and Mary, and Jesus, all paths led back to Nazareth. Nazareth, it is the town Mary lived in before this whole adventure began. Nazareth, it is where the angel Gabriel came to Mary and explained to her THE LORD’S PLAN OF SALVATION. You know Gabriel didn’t tell Mary all the detours this path would take her on. He just explained the Holy Spirit will overshadow you. God will put His Son inside of you. That is it. She did not ask to see all that this life would look like she just said, “Let it be done to me as God has said.”
Joseph didn’t ask to see all the places this path would lead him, but every time the angel said, “Get up and do _____” Joseph got up immediately and did what he was told to do. He knew whatever the Lord directed him to do was the path the Lord was going to use to protect the Precious Child that had been entrusted to him.
All the days ordained for Jesus were written in God’s Book before one of them came to be. God told Hosea that He would call His Son out of Egypt so God told Joseph to go to Egypt. In Egypt, Jesus was protected from Herod’s massacre. Jesus was sent to the earth as God’s Anointed, set apart for the Holy assignment of saving mankind. He was a Nazarene, set apart and different, and called to Holy purposes. So God sent Jesus to Nazareth, a village name to symbolize a Nazarene’s life of holiness. Jesus’ life was all mapped out before one of them came to be. Sure their were detours but those detours were part of the path.
All the days ordained for me were written in God’s book before one of them came into existence.
The right path for my life is the one that leads to knowing God more and more!