“All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (Which means God is with us).” Isaiah 7:14
Fast forward a few hundred years… to Nazareth, a small village in Galilee. There was a young, poor girl named Mary, who was chosen by God for one of the most obedient acts ever asked of anyone. She was engaged to be married to Joseph, a descendant of King David. The Angel Gabriel came to Mary and said…
”You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor, David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end. Mary asked the angel, ‘But how can this happen? I am a virgin.’
The angel replied, the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God.” Luke 1: 31-35
FYI: You may think that you’re an unlikely candidate to be used by God. Maybe your ability, experience or lack of experience and education may make you feel that way. But we cannot put limits on God. He can and will use us if we trust in Him. He always uses the ordinary to do the extraordinary! This scripture comes to mind…”Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. God chose things despised by the world; things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.” 1 Corinthians 1: 27-29
Now Let me ask all of the men out there…
How would you react if your fiancée told you she was pregnant, but you knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that the baby wasn’t yours? I’m thinking that most of you would have a really tough time accepting that, and would probably leave her. 2000 years ago, the penalty for an unwed mother was death by stoning! Joseph was in a real difficult situation. He loved Mary. He was an honorable man, just faced with a tough choice…
“As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. ‘Joseph, son of David,’ the angel said, ‘Do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” Matthew 1: 20-21
In view of the circumstances, marrying Mary had not even occurred to Joseph. But God often shows us that there are more options available than we may think. Although Joseph seemed to be doing the right thing by breaking off the engagement, only God’s guidance helped him make the right decision. Consenting to marry Mary surely cast doubt on his own innocence regarding the pregnancy, as well as leaving them both with a social stigma they would carry for the rest of their lives; yet Joseph chose to obey the angel’s command. When our decisions affect the lives of others, we must always seek God’s wisdom and then be willing to follow through no matter how difficult it may be. (NLT Commentary)