Purposeful Nuisance?

Luke 2:4-5 – So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.  He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.

What has frustrated you lately? Has there been something that has taken time and effort you hadn’t planned? Perhaps you are facing a nuisance right now that is forcing an inconvenient change of plans that you would never choose.

I am sure that is what a very pregnant Mary and her diligent new husband Joseph felt when they had to travel by foot over a hundred miles just because the oppressive Roman government commanded them to register for a census in their city of origin. Although I have never been pregnant, I remember well how much more effort it took my wife to get from place to place during that last trimester. I am sure both Mary and Joseph were greatly discouraged by the thought of having to make that journey. They were likely tempted to anger toward the Romans, despair at the financial burden, and fear at the risk of the journey and giving birth at a less than ideal location.

Yet, what seemed like a nuisance was part of God’s plan. Had they not made the journey, there would have been no shepherds. I am sure the angels could have made the trip, but Mary would have given birth at home instead of in a manger, the Magi would have got lost, and the seven hundred year old prophecy of the location of the Messiah’s birth (Micah 5:2) would not have been fulfilled. As inconvenient and even painful as it was to Mary and Joseph, that census and the hard journey were part of God’s purpose.

Try to gain a fresh perspective on your nuisances today. Perhaps God is at work in them to you or even through you to others for a much bigger purpose than your temporary discomfort.