What's a Provider to do when he Can't Provide?

 

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.”  Luke 2:10-11

 My husband is the consummate provider. Taking care of those around him has been his hallmark characteristic for as long as I can remember. He has worked hard his whole life to take care of me and our children, making sure we had everything that was good for us, including time and access to him as he prioritized family vacations and being there for important events like recitals and graduations. He even saw family time as such a priority that thirteen years ago he bought us a house out by the ocean so that we could have a place for focused time together! He went on to echo this caring instinct in his career with Microsoft where for years he was in charge of first making sure things worked right for people around the world and then making sure that they were heard. He was responsible for aggregating literally millions of pieces of feedback in many languages and formats from across the globe and then putting it into useable formats so that action could be taken to fulfill people’s needs. Locally, this rolled over into street outreach and putting feet to his faith as he served those in dire straits, living on the streets in our county. By the end of this year, he will have amassed nearly 3,000 volunteer hours in this capacity. As he was out with the team working with people in homeless camps and on the side of the road, he had a desire to bring them a hot meal – but how do you do that for 50 people when you’re driving around town in an already full to capacity van? Nissin Cup Noodle of course! And so, he began his cup noodle ministry and over the course of about two years he served more than 50,000 cups of noodle to people living on the streets near us. All of this is just to give you a picture, in case you don’t know him personally, of who my husband is and the depth of his provider instinct. Six months ago, my husband was laid off after a stellar 27-year career where he was frequently recognized as a top 5% performer in a company with over 200,000 employees. Today, he still doesn’t have his next job yet, and that bothers him more than he’s usually willing to let on. He has a strong desire to take care of me, and all those that he feels responsible for, and doesn’t see a way to do that long-term. Now, we’re doing ok at the moment, God has taken excellent care of us, but as he looks into the future, my husband can’t quite see how that will play out. In a heart-breaking confession last night, my husband shared with me that he feels like a failure. All of this feeds into my reading of scripture this morning and the story of Jesus’ family.

 Thanks to a decree sent out from Caesar Augustus, Joseph was required to bring his very pregnant wife to Bethlehem because that’s where his family was originally from. I can’t imagine his worry and concern when he heard the news. How could he embark on a journey like that with Mary so close to giving birth? It must have seemed like God wasn’t watching out for them, like He had made a mistake. But in reality, this aspect of Jesus’ birth had been foretold long ago in Micah 5:2, “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.” Jesus had to be born in Bethlehem, and God had to get Joseph and Mary there in time! If it took a decree from Caesar himself, then so be it.

 Then, once they arrived in Bethlehem, they found that it was busier than Seattle during Emerald City Comic Con! There wasn’t a room to be had anywhere. You’d better believe Joseph hit up all his contacts, everyone who might know someone who might know someone who had a spare room, but there wasn’t a single option out there. Then it became clear that Mary was going to have the baby NOW, room or no room! The scramble was on for Joseph to find somewhere that wasn’t the side of the road for the birth of God’s Son. You’d better believe he felt like a failure. Here this greatest of responsibilities had been entrusted to him, and he was blowing it. He couldn’t even find a place for Mary to give birth! In what had to be a last-ditch effort, he found a stable. At least it was covered and off the street, but a stable?!? I’ve got to believe he was praying with every fiber of his being as he searched high and low, and what devastation he must have felt when not a single opportunity for a bed surfaced for them.

 But what he probably didn’t realize was that this too was a part of God’s perfect plan. God knew they needed a place for Mary to give birth, and while they might have had one idea of what that needed to look like, God knew what they really needed, and He provided it. Furthermore, God knew what the world needed in Jesus’ birth – even more than what Joseph and Mary thought they needed.

 The clearest picture of this is when the angel told the shepherds that their sign of the Messiah’s birth would be that they’d find a newborn baby, wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger. That must have seemed highly unlikely if not unbelievable, and a clear sign that this was, indeed, the promised One. And sure enough, they found the baby, just as the angel had told them, in a manger – a lowly manger, a food trough for animals.

 While the specifics of being laid in a manger were not prophesied in the old testament, being born in this way allowed Jesus to identify, and be identified with, the poor and the downtrodden. Being God incarnate, He could have been born anywhere: a palace, a hospital (had He chosen to delay His birth), a comfortable home of a wealthy family. Instead, God chose to have His Only Son born in the most humble of places. This endears us to Him and helps the marginalized of the world to see that they are not alone, and God loved them so much that He was willing to be born into circumstances like theirs so that they could connect with Him.

 Another interesting aspect that was pointed out to me is that Jesus, who would later identify Himself as the Bread of Life, was laid in a manger, a feeding trough for animals. He who expressed the purpose of feeding His sheep with His flesh and blood (John 6:53-58), was placed in a receptacle for food. While it’s not a clear correlation, it is an interesting one.

Here's the Thing: Joseph was likely distraught at the situation he and Mary were presented with as Jesus’ birth became eminent, but as time played out after, I hope it became more and more clear to them that this was, in fact, part of God’s perfect plan for them and for the world. I pray likewise that my husband will be able to look back on this time of job insecurity and see God’s hand and design in it. It is so hard in the intense moment of need to rest and relax in God’s provision, I completely respect that, but God is still in control, and He has a perfect plan for all of this, for all of us.