The escape of a lifetime

In Matthew chapter 2, we read about the beautiful story of Jesus' birth. People from far and wide like shepherds and kings came to see the child.

But here's where the story gets interesting. Joseph had a dream. Now we don't know why Joseph was spoken to in dreams and why Mary was spoken to in person. What we do know is this is the way that God choose to get his attention. He's told that Jesus is in trouble and that they need to flee in order to save Jesus life.

Now I don't know if you have ever traveled with a small child anywhere but I have.  There are tons of things that you have to bring, you have to make sure all their favorite toys are there and even some not so favorite toys because you never know with a child.

Here's the thing, there were no cars. A crazy thought I know. The distance between Israel and Egypt is 433 miles. This is not smooth terrain by any stretch of the imagination. It is hard, hot, sandy region that would have to be traveled by foot or donkey.

Now imagine trying to take your 2 year old child on a journey like that. If I had been Joseph, I would have just turned over and gone back to sleep. We'll leave in the morning when I have time to get everything that we need. I have a carpentry job that will help provide for us for the next 2 months. I'll go after I finish that. But that's not what Joseph did. He got Mary and Jesus up that night, got on the donkey and left.

They were headed to the land of Egypt, a land where their ancestors had been slaves. But that was just to be in the fulfillment of the prophecy from the Old Testament. "Out of Egypt I will call my son."  We don't know at what exact age all of this happened. We don't know when this family came back to Israel. But we do know if that God kept his promise to protect them.

The question is this. If God called you, would you be willing to drop everything and go. It doesn't matter if it's taking up a shift at work, or sharing the gospel with someone. It could be something as simple as paying for the person behind you in the drive thru.

Or it could be something much more difficult. It could be cutting off a relationship that is harmful to you. It could be moving to a place where you know no one. It could be going to a public school for the first time and that scares you to death.

No matter what God is calling you to do, just be willing to listen, hear his voice, and he will take care of the rest.