HOW TO REMAIN STEADFAST IN A TURBULENT WORLD: A Lesson from Joseph and Mary
Luke 2:1, Luke 2:4-5 tells us:
“In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David,to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.”
We take the boys backpacking and it’s very difficult at times depending on incline, elevation and distance. Mary and Joseph’s trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem was very, very very difficult for the following reasons:
1) Mary was pregnant with baby Jesus. Being pregnant means loss of energy and not feeling well. She still managed to walk or sit on a donkey (not in a comfortable automobile seat like we do today).
2) In Biblical times, the distance they had to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem was about 70 miles as the crow flies but in reality, when walking is 90 actual miles (145km).
3) They had to travel south along the flatlands of the Lordan River to make the journey less stressful. But ultimately had to cut in moving west over the surrounding hills of Jerusalem to complete their journey.
4) The journey itself was not easy but very difficult, as they would have encountered the danger of rock slides or falling rocks from the hills made of loose dirt and rocks in places. They would have also encountered wild animals and thieves along the way.
5) The trip in total probably took a week, but many biblical scholars hold that it was a four-day journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem in that time based on 2.5 miles per-hour for roughly eight hours a day. When we backpack, with high-tech boots, traveling at 2.5 miles per-hour is a fast pace-but doable. Joseph and Mary (being pregnant) would have been wearing sandals or some other primitive footwear. But did Mary ride on a donkey?
6) Tradition holds that Mary traveled on a donkey and not by foot, which makes sense. They most likely traveled by way of familial caravan, as there is safety in numbers. Traveling by donkey was not a luxury of or the rich in the time of Mary and Joseph but was a common way of traveling for all classes of people in that time in history.
IN OUR MODERN CULTURE, we find people who complain about working hard and having to go the distance for just about anything in life. This was not a thing for the most part in my parents and grandparents generation because their values and the culture in America at that time was moored in the Biblical Scriptures as the standard for all things in life-including their work ethic, how they treated others and their sense of what was right and wrong. As things change in the global world order, my sense is that God is going to bless the United States and much of the Western world through difficult times with the chance to once again to walk in His ways. We will walk through dangerous areas filled with the modern day robbers/thieves and wild animals of our modern age metaphorically speaking. The good news is that God will not takes us from that but throug it. In my final thoughts, I want to leave you with a number of take-AWAYS.
The OVERALL VERSE for MY TAKE AWAYS IS BASED ON: 1 CORINTHIANS 15:58 which says, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (1 COR. 15:58 NKJV). With this in mind, I want to leave you with FOUR take away ACTION points.
1) FIRST: REMAIN STEADFAST and IMMOVABLE in your faith.
2) SECOND: AVOID APATHY and ABOUND IN THE “WORK” (MISSION) the Lord has called you to in this crazy age. Jesus is not coming back until the good news has been preached to all the earth. If we are apathetic and wring our hands, saying “Jesus is coming back” and do nothing, we prolong the retur of Christ because the gospel is not being preached throughout and to all the earth.
3) THIRD: WE NEED TO BE STRONG AND OVERCOME THE SPIRITUAL and OTHER ATTACKS the world throws at us. When you’re steadfast and immovable, no matter the challenge, you remain in Christ who is the head of all principalities. Remember that-and the fact that the devil cannot afflict you unless you allow him to do so, because God through Christ the Spririt is in you.
4) FOURTH AND LASTLY: REMIND YOURSELF DAILY that YOUR LABOUR IS NOT IN VAIN. In order to finish the race strong, you have to do this. Every Labour of your for the kingdom of God will surely be rewarded. God is a rewarded of those who diligently seek him and carry out the mission He calls them to. Therefore, remain steadfast and immovable in your walk and mission for God, because no work of yours will go unoticed by Him. Also, you must keep in mind that it is impossible to please God without faith (Hebrews 11:6). Remember that “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). In Luke 17, The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” And the Lord said, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.” (Luke 17:5-6).
With all the pressures, problems and anxieties of this world, lets never consider throwing in the towel and going back to the ways of the world as an option or a thought. Let’s make sure to avoid apathy and the road most traveled. Instead, remain steadfast and immovable in your walk with God. Remain rooted in Christ through the Scirptures, fellowship and prayer. And this will be your stability at all the times. Take a second look for yourself at Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem. You will notice that at it’s core, it was their obedience, perseverance, faith and steadfast that got them there. And in the end, let that be an example for you and I to live out our faith in the 21st Century. -Steven Garofalo
