Matthew 2:22 (ESV)
But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of
his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he
withdrew to the district of Galilee.
Joseph had been instructed in a
dream that it was time for he, Mary, and little Jesus to return home. Hearing
that Archelaus was in Judea he didn’t want to go back to Bethlehem where they
had been before going to Egypt. Fearing Archelaus he desired to go north to
Galilee instead, which is exactly where he was warned to go in another dream.
I had a friend years ago who believed
that if he wanted to do something or was gifted in some way then obviously that
was not what God wanted. Whatever was hard, whatever was against his own desires
must be God’s will. But here in Matthew we find the desires of Joseph and the
will of God aligning. What Joseph wanted; God instructed. God’s will for us
does not always coincide with our desires, but neither does it always
contradict our desires. We need to listen well, but if our heart is aligned
with God’s heart then our desires will also align. That is exactly what Psalms
37:4 is talking about, “Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the
desires of your heart.” As believers we need to truly delight in the LORD, then
listen well to both the desires of our hearts and the leading of the Spirit. I
think we’ll find that they will often align.
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