Trusting God’s Foresight

Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread. Our reading, titled Trust in God's Foresight, was written by Patricia Rabin. While driving us to an unfamiliar location, my husband noticed that the GPS direction suddenly seemed wrong. After entering a reliable four-lane highway, we were advised to exit and travel along a one-lane frontage road running parallel to us. I'll just trust it, Dan said, despite seeing no delays. After about 10 miles, however, the traffic on the highway next to us slowed to a near standstill.

The trouble? Major construction. And the frontage road? With little traffic, it provided a clear path to our destination. I couldn't see ahead, Dan said, but the GPS could, or as we agreed, just like God can. Knowing what was ahead, God, in a dream, gave a similar change in directions to the wise men in Matthew chapter 2, who'd come from the east to worship Jesus, born King of the Jews. King Herod, disturbed by the news of a rival king, lied to the Magi, sending them to Bethlehem, saying, Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me so that I, too, may go and worship him.

Warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, however, they returned to their country by another route. God will guide our steps, too. As we travel life's highways, we can trust that he sees ahead and remain confident that he will make our paths straight as we submit to his directions.

Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from Matthew chapter 2, verses 1 through 2 and 7 through 12. After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, Where is the one who has been born King of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.

And now picking up at verse 7. Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, Go and search carefully for the child.

As soon as you find him, report to me so that I, too, may go and worship him. After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him.

Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. Let's pray. Father, we can't see the road ahead as you can. Please develop in us a keen awareness of your guidance and make us able to discern when a change in direction is coming from you. Thank you, Lord. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Thanks for listening today. My name is Joyce Dinkins, and today's encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries.