Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.” Matthew 1:19-20
I read these verses again a few weeks ago. They were timely. And convicting.
You see, I’ve been very frustrated with myself lately. Frustrated that I can’t think faster, do faster. Frustrated that I can’t just decide something and move forward. It seems like everyone else is running ahead and I’m just jogging in place. The Lord and I have had several discussions about that, and yet still I remain stuck.
Or so I thought.
I read this account again and Joseph’s patience in a difficult situation leapt off the page in four little words: after he had considered.
If Joseph hadn’t stopped to consider, to contemplate the situation of finding Mary, his betrothed, with child, and knowing it wasn’t his, then he might have missed God’s direction to take her as his wife with the knowledge that the child was conceived of the Holy Spirit.
And so I wondered: Was my desire to move forward faster a good thing or not? I stopped to consider. To ponder. To think. To allow my pace to slow in regard to things I wish would hurry up.
I tend to want to be a convection oven of ideas instead of a crock pot. But after considering Matthew 1:20, I think God is okay with slow cookers, too–as long as our slowness isn’t in response to something He’s already told us to do.