Do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife.
—An angel of the Lord, Matthew 1:20
Joseph’s domain suddenly turned upside down with a surreal twist. One day the small-town carpenter had a good, simple life. His career was on track. Soon he would marry and begin a family. This was the path of a good, Hebrew man. Everything was according to plan.
Until that day. Everything changed. Everything imploded into shock, shame, and betrayal. And his betrothed’s only explanation was that God had made her pregnant. Unbelievable!
That’s when the angel appeared with the message “Do not be afraid . . .” Essentially God intervened to say, “Don’t worry, Joseph. You’ve got it because I’ve got it.”
You can take responsibility, men, even if you don’t feel as if you have the skills, wisdom, or ability to handle it. If you will align yourself under God, you can be confident He’s got it. God’s covering over us as His sons is a model of how we as men are to cover those under us: with protection, provision, and an environment for nurturing emotional, spiritual, and physical health.
Sometimes situations come up that make me think, There’s no way I can remedy this one. It’s too deep or too chaotic, and nothing in Scripture specifically addresses these details—other than to trust God, have faith, and honor Him. But I still hold up three fingers as if I mean it—not because I’m pretending, but because, as a man under God, I have faith that God has it.
