While He Was Thinking

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While He Was Thinking

by Sandra Gilmore

Have you been following this series? Check each month as we explore often-overlooked connections to Christmas and wind our way back to this sacred event.

His mind was anywhere but there. What was he going to do? How could he get out of this pickle?

He was a craftsman. Years of working with resistant materials had taught him a few things. He envisioned a use for a material that the material couldn’t even see for itself. He shaped the stone. He carved the wood. He avoided the delicate areas that could crack later, relying on the strength around it to achieve the goal, which was to transition something typically left alone or behind into something that would serve, something that would become a part of daily life. His work would bear his mark. His design and years of training, planning, working, and re-working would all be reflected in the craftsmanship of the final product.

Still, his day was ordinary. To a casual onlooker, his day would have seemed routine, no fuss, nothing unusual, until that evening. During the day, his hands were busy with the wood. He was carving, pounding, shaving, clearing shavings, staining, expertly crafting a resistant material into what he envisioned it to be. After years of honing his trade, his hands could maneuver without his mind engaged. And on that day, his thoughts took the focus while his craftsmanship ebbed out on autopilot.

Joseph had questions, sticky questions directed by society’s mores and religious considerations. He just couldn’t see a way out or a way in, for that matter. He was stuck with an urgent desire to run. He was running with a sincere desire to stay committed. What should he do? Everyone would know the baby wasn’t his. But he didn’t do anything wrong. And this girl genuinely believed God gave her this baby!

That evening The Master Craftsman worked with an immalleable material. The Lord expertly crafted the heart of a man who could have possibly been left behind by history into a role that would enter daily life for centuries to come. According to Matthew Chapter 1, the Lord sent an angel to Joseph in a dream. This messenger delivered stout answers to Joseph’s sticky questions.

Matthew 1:20 states, “But while he thought on these things, behold an angel appeared unto him in a dream.” The angel assured Joseph about following through with his marriage to Mary, even affirming the child was indeed the Son of God.

The original language gives us insight into Joseph’s ponderings. This verb can be translated ponder, deliberate, and revolve in the mind. Another passage in the book of Acts describes, “While Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said unto him…” These two examples highlight the promise in Isaiah 26:3: “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you.”

Do you ever ponder with your mind stayed on the Lord? Does your heart yield to The Master Craftsman? Or do you worry with your mind focused on other things with a heart resistant and stiff? With our minds stayed on the Lord, we can invite the Holy Spirit to give us insight, answers, and direction. He brings peace. When we worry, we give the enemy of our souls an invitation to weigh us down, confuse us, or stagnate us. As we enter this season of thanksgiving soon followed by Christmas, the Lord is indeed our Immanuel, God with us. We can ponder, wonder, and even question with renewed hope and peace!

About The Author Sandra Gilmore serves the Lord as wife, mom, and encourager, mostly through writing and speaking, occasionally through cooking, rarely through anything athletic and only because of the mercy and grace of Jesus. You can reach her by email: tandsgilmore@yahoo.com or her website: www.sandragilmore.org

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