When God speaks, it is not a matter of “if” what He said will come to pass. Instead, it’s a question of how or when it will come to pass.

Case in point. Seven hundred years before the birth of Christ, God spoke through a prophet by the name of Micah. He had Micah decree that Messiah would be born in a “little town” called Bethlehem, in the region of Ephrathah.

It was settled. The Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. God had spoken this through His prophet, Micah. Now it was just a matter of God bringing about all the details.

At the appropriate time, God found a young lady, Mary, living in Nazareth. God sent an angel to announce to her that she was part of His plan to bring His One and Only Son, Jesus, the Messiah, to the earth. This appears to be a problem because she was betrothed to a carpenter named Joseph who also lived in Nazareth.

At the appropriate time, God sent an angel to Joseph to explain things and to give Joseph a plan for how to deal with this unique situation. And Joseph cooperated. God had spoken. But what about Bethlehem?

Nazareth is 97 miles north of Bethlehem. It would have been a five-day journey. There was no such thing as a pleasant five-day journey, especially for someone about to give birth. Was Bethlehem out of the picture? No, God had spoken.

Once again, at the appropriate time, God raised up a Roman Emperor by the name of Augustus. He decreed that a census be taken all throughout the Roman Empire for the purpose of taxation. The Roman Emperor was one of the details God was using to bring about His plan. God had spoken.

A census meant that everyone living in the Roman Empire had to travel to their “ancestral home” to register. Now Joseph was of the house of David which meant he had to return to Bethlehem. God had spoken.

While Joseph and Mary were in Bethlehem, the appropriate time came for Messiah to be born, “born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption  as sons and daughters.”

Don’t give up on the things God has spoken. His decrees (promises) are “Yes and Amen.”

It’s just a matter of how and when.

Always in Pursuit!

Don