The story of Jesus begins with a scandal of sorts. A young man, Joseph, is engaged to a young woman, Mary, when he finds out that she is pregnant. The Bible says that “Joseph was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.” But wait! This isn’t God’s plan for Mary or Jesus or Joseph! So the next verse tells us that God sends an angel to Joseph to assure him that Mary wasn’t unfaithful, but instead was carrying the Savior of the world. Remember how it said that Joseph was a righteous man? That’s a detail that matters. Because the Bible promises that God orders the steps of the righteous [Psalm 37:23]. God’s plan might be confusing or counterintuitive, but if we keep our heart right before Him, God will do whatever it takes to keep us in the center of His will, even if that means sending an angel to make the message clear. We focus on having a right heart and God will make sure we take the right steps.

Psalm 37:23 “The LORD makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him.”