Day 17: The Refugees: Hearing God’s Protection
When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”-Matthew 2:13-15
Devotional:
About 15 years ago my wife and I received a phone call at 2 AM from her sister. Her home situation had become unsafe, and she needed immediate help. As we drove to pick her up, I remembered thinking how grateful I was that she heard and heeded the internal warning to reach out. Sometimes God's protective voice comes through our gut instincts, sometimes through others, and sometimes - as with Joseph - through dreams.
Joseph's story is particularly poignant because it shows us that even being in the center of God's will doesn't exempt us from danger. Here was the Messiah himself - God's promised one - having to flee as a refugee to Egypt. The same Joseph who had earlier heard God's voice telling him to take Mary as his wife now heard a warning to run. Both messages required immediate, decisive action and complete trust.
What's remarkable about Joseph's response is its immediacy - he got up "during the night" and left. No waiting until morning, no checking the weather forecast, no gathering a committee to discuss the feasibility of international travel with a young child. When God's protective voice speaks, sometimes minutes matter. Joseph understood that obedience delayed is often obedience denied.
This passage also reminds us that God's protection doesn't always mean prevention of hardship. The holy family still had to endure the difficulties of being refugees in a foreign land. But God's warning voice provided a way through the danger, not around it. Sometimes God's protection looks more like provision in the trial rather than prevention of it.
Reflection Questions:
When have you experienced God's protective warning in your life, and how did you respond?
What might be making it difficult for you to hear or heed God's protective voice today?
Prayer Prompt:
Ask God to sharpen your spiritual sensitivity to His protective warnings, and for the courage to respond quickly when He calls you to move in a new direction.