A few weeks ago I celebrated my daughter’s first birthday. Time flies! Only a year ago she was a little newborn curled up in my arms. Now she’s a 25lb, walking, talking, climbing, teeth brushing, little princess (yes, she likes to brush her own teeth). Looking back over her first year of life reminded of what a gift it is to be a daddy.

What I love most about being a daddy is knowing that my daughter trusts me. My daughter, like most children, has a habit of getting herself into unusual predicaments. The good news is that all she has to do is yell out “Daaad,” and I come running to the rescue.

Did you know that God delights in being a Father? Just like any good Father, He finds great joy in being there for His children. When we find ourselves in unusual predicaments, or when life throws us a curveball our response should be similar to that of my daughter’s.

In this weekend’s passage, Joseph, Jesus’ earthly father, lost all peace the moment he was thrown a major life curveball. One day out of the blue his betrothed, Mary, announced that she was miraculously pregnant with a child from the Holy Spirit. As you can imagine, this announcement sounded more like a cover-up than the truth. But the moment Joseph lost peace regarding his future with Mary was the moment that God responded just like any good Father would.

Here are three things to remember when life throws you a curveball…

1. God is Immanent – The God of the Bible is a personal God who is actively involved in the in-workings and out-workings of His creation. He is so involved that a sparrow doesn’t fall to the ground without Him knowing. He even knows the very hairs on our head. His immanence is a reminder that He sees, cares, and intervenes. It is a reminder that God is never absent in our time of need.

2. God Intervenes – While Joseph was writhing over the news of Mary, God intervened by bringing a supernatural peace. Matthew records that “as Joseph considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.’”

God sent an angel to deliver a simple message, “Do not fear! God is in control!” Maybe today you have lost sight of the fact that even when life throws you a curveball, or hits you with a tragedy, or takes an unexpected turn; God is still in control. He is actively involved in the details of your life and has the supernatural ability to bring peace where you have none. All you have to do is call out to Him. The peace of God is a heavenly peace granted through prayer (Phil 4:6-7). The moment we fall to our knees is the moment that the peace of heaven collides with earth.

3. God Saves – According to Matthew 1, God is so involved with the world he made that he actually becomes like His creation through the incarnation. The incarnation teaches that the second person of the Trinity, God the Son, took on flesh as Jesus. The identity of this miraculous Son is captured in the two names that the angel gives him. The name Jesus describes what he will do (“for he will save his people from their sins”) and the name Immanuel describes who he is (“God with us”).

This announcement from the angel reveals an even greater need for peace than the temporary peace that Joseph lost. We all have a need for eternal peace. Yes God cares about the things that rob us of peace, but we must never forget that our greatest need of all is peace with God through the forgiveness of sins. Without this need met, we can never know true peace.

Do you have peace today? If not, get on your knees and ask for it. God cares about the curve balls in your life. He is immanent. He intervenes. He saves

Do you have the assurance of eternal peace? Don’t let your need for temporary peace distract you from your greatest need of all, which is peace with God. Eternal peace comes only through faith in the King of peace, Jesus Christ.

–Ricky Hemme

You can listen to the sermon here: Born Is the King of Peace