Abbey Advent: Self Control Week 1 Day 5

Day 5: Self Control - Mary & Joseph 

Text: Matthew 1:18-25

One of my biggest struggles is fighting the need to justify myself. If people only knew then they would understand. I can only imagine what that battle must have been a constant struggle for Mary and Joseph. 

We see Joseph described as just. We know that he was well-liked in the community. People must have been frustrated he didn’t give Mary what they thought she deserved; that he was making a mistake in marrying this girl. 

Mary saw the looks they gave her as she walked down the street with her son. She heard what they said in a whisper just loud enough to make sure she did. 

Bitterness. 

It could have been so easy for this couple, called by God to do something beyond what they had thought, to grow bitter and frustrated. 

Yet we see these small glimpses of them being just the opposite. Showing hospitality to those cast aside (the shepherds), humbly receiving gifts from strangers (the wise men). 

The roots of bitterness will make the soil of our hearts infertile and inhospitable. Grace allows what God brings into our life to flourish. 

Just like Mary and Joseph, we must choose to lay aside bitterness, however justified we think we may be to hold on to it, and practice self-control. For in this self-control, grace may flourish and fruit may abound in our hearts and the hearts of those all around us. 

Reflection

Morning: Begin this day by asking God to reveal where you may be holding on to bitterness and your attempts to justify it. 

Afternoon: Surrender is never easy, it takes humility and vulnerability, both things we usually run away from. As you think more about the question from this morning, where/what do you need to surrender. 

Evening: Take some time to pray for hope. Hope that God would bring grace not only for you but through you for others. Pray that God would cultivate a garden of grace in your life so that the fruit of His work would flourish in your life.