Daily Devotional
"And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt."
Matthew 2:14
Notice Joseph’s response to the angel’s warning: there was no arguing, no second-guessing, no ‘let me think about it’ or ‘let me pray about it for a few weeks.’ He just got up in the middle of the night and went. That is faithful obedience. That is what it looks like to trust God when you cannot see the whole plan.
Consider what Joseph had to leave behind. Whatever job he had, whatever life he had developed, whatever retirement plan he might have been working toward, he left all of it in the middle of the night. Jesus was a refugee from the moment He was born. The King of kings started His earthly life on the run. Joseph and Mary paid a price for their willingness to be part of God’s plan. They knew 20 families suffered in Bethlehem. They raised a Son they knew would be ‘a sign that will be spoken against.’
Following Jesus has always had a cost from the very beginning. Revelation 12:11 says the saints overcame ‘by the word of their testimony’ and ‘they loved not their lives even unto death.’ Holding to your testimony may mean being willing to suffer. Most of us will probably never face martyrdom, but we will face pressure: pressure to compromise, pressure to stay silent, pressure to blend in and go with the crowd.
The question is: will you hold to your testimony? At work when it is unpopular? In your family when it causes tension? In our culture when it invites ridicule? The battle is real, the enemy is real, but so is our Savior. And He has already won. Our job is to trust in the reality that He has already won, and to hold to our testimony whatever the cost.
Today's Challenge
What has following Jesus cost you? Where are you currently facing pressure to compromise, stay silent, or blend in? What would it look like for you to hold to your testimony in that situation, whatever the cost?
Prayer
Lord, I am challenged by Joseph's immediate, costly obedience. He did not argue, did not delay, did not demand more information. He simply trusted and obeyed. Forgive me for the times I have hesitated when You called, the times I have compromised to avoid discomfort, the times I have stayed silent when I should have spoken. Give me courage to hold to my testimony whatever the cost. Help me to love You more than I love my own life, my reputation, my comfort. Thank You that Jesus has already won the victory. Help me to live as one who trusts in that victory. In His name, Amen.
