Matthew 2:13
After the Magi had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you,
for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”
Jesus’ birth story is filled with real threats as well as joy. Herod, a dangerous king, planned to kill the baby Jesus. This was no idle threat; it was a genuine danger.
However, what is fascinating is this: before Herod acted, God had already moved. Through a dream, God warned Joseph. He gave clear instructions: get up, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there. This means that while the threat remained in man’s plans, God had already prepared a path of salvation.
Often, we think that God works after problems arise. We encounter difficulties, we pray, and then God helps us. We face troubles, and God provides a way out. But this story reveals something deeper: God was working even before the problems truly occurred. And not only does He know—He acts, often without us realizing it.
There are so many things in our lives that we only realize after the fact. Plans fall through without us understanding why. There are opportunities we didn’t seize. Some meetings were postponed or didn’t happen at all. In such moments, our common reaction is disappointment or perhaps even complaining to God. However, in hindsight, we understand that it could be precisely in those instances that God was protecting us. What we perceive as a disruption turns out to be God’s way of guarding our lives. What we thought was a loss is actually His work of salvation.
We are accustomed to only seeing what is before our eyes—challenges, uncertainties, worries. We do not know what is happening “behind the scenes.” We do not know what threats may be drawing near. But God knows, and He not only knows—He acts before we realize it. Perhaps through a gentle warning in our hearts, perhaps through someone’s advice, or perhaps through a change in plans that we do not understand. Often, God works so subtly that we do not immediately recognize it as His hand at work. We assume it is just a coincidence or a common decision. In reality, God is guiding our steps away from unseen dangers.
If we’re honest, what most often makes us anxious isn’t the situation we’re in. It’s the feeling that we don’t have control over our own lives. We want to know what will happen. We want to make sure everything is safe. Yet that is where faith works. It means trusting God, who sees what we do not. Having faith doesn’t mean our path is always smooth. It means believing that behind every storm, there is a God who has already acted on our behalf. Don’t let today’s uncertainty make you fearful. God isn’t only waiting for us at the end of the road. He walks with us from the very first moment. Later, when we look back, we will be grateful for how God has guarded our lives in ways we never imagined.