IMITATE THEIR FAITH-He Protected, He Provided, He Persevered

JOSEPH swung another load onto the donkey's back.  Picture him looking around at the darkened village of Bethlehem and patting the flank of the sturdy little beast of burden. He was surely  thinking of the long trip ahead. Egypt!  A foreign people, a foreign tongue, foreign customs-how would his little family adapt to so much change? 

It was not easy to tell the bad news to his beloved wife, Mary, but Joseph braced himself and did it.  He told her of the dream in which an angel delivered this message from God:  The king, Herod, wanted their little son dead! They had to move right away.  (Matthew 2:13, 14)  Mary was deeply  concerned. How could anyone want to kill her innocent harmless child?  Neither Mary nor Joseph could fathom it. But they trusted in Jehovah, so they readied themselves.

Unaware of the unfolding drama, Bethlehem slept as Joseph and Mary, and Jesus slipped  out of the village in the darkness. Heading southward, with the sky beginning to lighten in the east, Joseph likely wondered about what lay ahead. How could a lowly carpenter protect his family against forces so powerful?  Would he always  be able to provide for his own?  Would he manage to persevere in carrying out this heavy assignment that Jehovah God had given him, to care for and raise this unique child?   Joseph faced daunting challenges. As we consider how he rose to meet each one, we will see how fathers today-and all of us-need to imitate the faith of Joseph.

Next time: Joseph Protected His Family

From the Watchtower magazine, 2012