Different Plans

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

     Luke 2:1-4 says, “And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed  (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)   And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.  And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)” 

     Have you ever wondered, “Why did this happen now?” About ten days ago, I developed a pain in my left foot which was unbearable and so had to go to the hospital again for labs and all of that stuff including a MRI which showed an infection in my ankle that was growing  some bad bacteria.  It  was labeled as “septic arthritis” and would require surgery.  So, I eventually was prepared for surgery and things were cleaned up and now I am on antibiotics for the next thirty days.  Now why did this happen?  There is no doubt in my mind that I had to meet and to pray for some special people at the hospital.  God knew that and put me in the path of some people that needed a prayer during this season.  God moves people around to achieve His purpose and we often don’t see the reason for ourselves, but it is there nonetheless.

     Caesar Augustus decided that everyone should be taxed and so they would have t o go to their hometown to be registered for the tax.  This meant that a young Israelite couple, nanmed, Mary and Joseph, would have to make a quick trip to Bethlehem from their current place, Nazareth.  It would be quite a journey and the only difficult thing about this journey for this young couple was the fact that Mary was pregnant and the delivery date was fast approaching, but they made the trip, arriving in Bethlehem, only to find no vacancy at the inn.  You know the rest of the story.  That night, Jesus took on flesh and Mary held God in her hands.  We might now ask, “But what about the shepherd or the inn keeper, or the tax collector, or the farmer of barley or the vine dresser, or the cattleman, or the silversmith or any of the other people around the land of Israel that night?  They also got moved to their own home town and they might be saying”  “Why did this have to happen today?  I had plans to go to Damascus to buy  an ox.”  They didn’t know that they were part of God’s plan just to get Mary and Joseph to their own hometown of Bethlehem.  We often do not see the “Big” picture.  We only see our own little part but it is just as important because we are a part of God’s plan of what is going on in the world today.Why did it snow so hard?  Why is it slick outside and I can’t go to Target?  God has His plan.  Praise God for working out His plan through us every moment.