Train Wreck

Yesterday a friend of ours spoke in church and he was talking about how our lives can sometimes be like a train wreck. Sometimes the cause is consequences to our sin and other times the cause is God. God? Yes. As in the case of Mary and Joseph, she is pregnant but no one know it's from God and everyone probably shunned her, including family. Then when Joseph knows and he takes her to be his wife it probably looked like it was his baby, again scorned. Then they get to Bethlehem for the census and not even the worst Inns (whorehouses) had any room to spare. So they ended up in a cave/stable where she went into labor and had the Messiah. It sounds like train wreck. Where was God? Couldn't He get them the nicest Inn at the best part of town? Yes, but He didn't. Why? I don't know. Maybe so the Messiah could relate to everyone's situation. Whatever the reason, I trust it was a good one. The point is that Mary and Joseph could have felt forsaken but they weren't. It was orchestrated.

This message came at such a timely moment for me. That very morning I had had a pity-party. I was feeling like I was being punished even though I had been following Him. Shouldn't things be going great? Shouldn't I be getting blessings? I was demanding good things come from my obedience. This message was timely for me to take a second look into Scripture. "For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope." Romans 15:4 (NIV)