By Harry R. Jackson, Jr.
The Right Place
Micah spoke the prediction: "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times." (Micah 5:2 NIV)
It is no wonder that Herod got nervous after reading this word. Ironically, since neither Mary or Joseph were from that town, God used the Roman tax system to relocate Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem expressly for the birth. Some scholars, like A.T. Robertson, even believe that both Mary and Joseph were descendants of King David — thus requiring both of them to go to the same specified tax location.
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As a result of Joseph’s “IRS problem,” he had to jostle his family. To say that this was an inconvenience would be putting it mildly. In like manner we ask ourselves, “Why is the Lord taking such a circuitous route to my destiny?” We are frequently like a child on a long car trip — wanting to take bathroom breaks every few miles. Our agonizing cries seemingly fall on deaf ears, as we repeat the phrase, “Are we there yet?” like a mantra.
Despite our dislike of the process, the Lord rarely confers with us about the direction. He simply lays out His plan and leads us to the right place.
The Right Time
God knew just the right time for Jesus’ birth. Keeping His timetable meant planning ahead. The Lord not only determined Jesus’ parents, he also established their family tribe and region. Despite His exhaustive preplanning, when God moves it can seem chaotic and disconcerting. Mary and Joseph had to have felt that things were moving too fast.
A personal story may make this point a little clearer. When my wife and I felt the call of God to move from upstate New York to the Washington, D.C. area, it didn’t seem like the right time. Our church in Painted Post was in a major period of transition. We had just purchased a radio station, the church was in debt, and there wasn’t a pastor to replace me. Counselor after counselor who knew our situation intimately advised us to move. They knew that a region of less than 100,000 people was not the place of our lifelong work. Despite the logic of their long term perspective, Michele and I did not want to move presumptively. Therefore, after struggling with this decision, we put a fleece before God. “Lord,” we said, “if you resolve these three problems, we’ll move to D.C.”
In 48 hours, we were referred to a replacement pastor who had been raised less than 45 minutes from our church. A few weeks later, we were able to sell the radio station for a profit and use the money to pay off the church’s debt. I learned that God moves quickly when we are in line with His timing.