Joseph's Night Before Christmas Shows Us We Don't Have To Be Afraid


In 1823 Clement Moore wrote his most famous poem, A Visit From St Nicholas. It would become better known in our day as. 'Twas The Night Before Christmas. In his poem we find the words,

"Mama in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter's nap."

Long before Moore's 1823 poem another man laid down to sleep on an actual night before Christmas. No one was by his side, he was alone and afraid. It wasn't visions of sugar plums dancing in his head. It was visions of scandal, public humiliation, embarrassment, and shame. His name was Joseph. A few weeks ago everything had seemed so sure, but in a moment everything had changed. Nights when you're afraid are nights you can't sleep until you're totally exhausted. Eventually Joseph would drift off, and a man whose mind was so clouded he probably couldn't hear from God any other way was visited in a dream.

“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 1:20

It doesn't make any sense to tell you not to be afraid unless there's something to be afraid of. Joseph is assured though that he doesn't need to fear. He can trust God's plan. It's interesting that God doesn't reveal the whole plan to Joseph. Imagine if the angel had said, "Oh, and by the way, you're going to have to go to Bethlehem to pay your taxes, and then Herod is going to try to kill the baby so you'll have to leave the country for a while and lose all contact with family and friends. But, don't worry, I have some guys coming from Persia who are bringing you some myrrh."

I don't know if Joseph could have handled the whole plan at once, but step by step God directed his path. Joseph just needed to trust and obey.

Sometimes our lives get pretty frightening as well, yet when they do the same words spoken to Joseph still speak to us. "Do not be afraid." If what lies ahead of you is uncertainty keep trusting, keep believing, keep following God's plan one step at a time. Doing so should help you get some rest.

Following the Son,
James A Williams

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