"And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly."

Now I want you to understand something about Joseph. This man was righteous. Scripture calls him a just man. That is not a throwaway phrase. That is a description of his character, his reputation, his track record of faithfulness. Joseph had built a righteous life. He knew how to please God within the framework he understood. He knew the Law. He kept the Law. He honored God according to everything he had been taught.

And when crisis came, he forged a solution that honored both the Law and his love for Mary. Think about this for a second. Under the Law, Mary could have been publicly shamed. She could have been stoned. Joseph had every legal right to expose her and protect his own reputation. But he did not do that. He found a third way. Quiet divorce. It was merciful. It was wise. It was the best solution a faithful man could create on his own.

But notice something incredible here. This was Joseph's plan, not God's plan. His peace was real, righteous, thoughtful, merciful, and wise. But it was lesser. It could not compare to what God was actually doing. Lesser peace is still insufficient peace.

Can I just say something to those of you who have built genuinely faithful lives? Some of you are doing it right. You are not living in compromise. You are not cutting corners. You have carefully constructed a way to honor God in your marriage, in your parenting, in your finances, in your choices. You have built something that works.

And yet even your best framework cannot produce the peace only Jesus brings. Your plan might be just, but is it God's plan? Your plan might be righteous, but is it God's plan? Your plan might be good, but is it God's plan?

Proverbs 16:9 says, "The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps." There is nothing wrong with planning. There is nothing wrong with being wise and thoughtful. But sometimes God disrupts our good plans to accomplish His greater purpose.

Here's what I need you to know. The enemy of God's best is often our good. Joseph's plan would have protected Mary. It would have preserved his reputation. It would have been the honorable thing to do. But it would have missed the Messiah. It would have forfeited the incredible thing God was doing right in front of him.

So here is the question for today. What good plan might be standing in the way of God's greater purpose in your family? What righteous framework have you built that God might be asking you to surrender? Because sometimes the thing keeping us from God's best is not our sin. Sometimes it is our solution.

Tomorrow we will see how God interrupted Joseph's good plan with something far greater. And it all started with remembering who he really was.

1. What "good plan" have you built for your family that you might be holding onto more tightly than God's direction?

2. In what areas have you stopped seeking God's guidance because you already have a solution that seems to be working?

Identify one area of your family life where you have been operating on your own wisdom. Bring that plan to God in prayer today and ask Him if there is something greater He wants to do.