After Jesus was born, Mary and Joseph travelled to Egypt to hide from King Herod who wanted to kill Jesus. This passage tells us how once Herod had died, God told Mary and Joseph to travel to Israel and warned them in a dream not to go to Judea but to go to Galilee instead. 

We can only imagine how stressful it must have been for Mary and Joseph to move around and have their plans changed - especially with a young baby! However, they were obedient to God's calling and their obedience 'fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that He would be called a Nazarene' (v23). 

Obedience not only means obeying God's calling when life is good.  It also means obeying God's calling when what He wants us to do is not the easiest option, and may seem inconvenient. Sometimes that calling may even seem dangerous and only for God's glory and no personal gain. But we know that we can always trust that God's ways are the right way and we can be sure that 'in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.' (Romans 8:28).

Andrew and Karen Sim