Can a dream contain a Christmas miracle?

Source: Wikipedia: Mengs 18th century

Sometimes we need discernment. Events we're looking at from day to day don't make sense, and we don't know whether to turn left or right, race forward or shift backward. 

Joseph probably felt that way. He was a devout man and a descendant of King David. He was betrothed to Mary, and they were promised to each other through a contractual marriage agreement under Jewish law. Then things fell apart. He learned that Mary was pregnant. 

Imagine the disappointment, the anger, embarrassment, and the sheer surprise Joseph may have felt. He didn't want to humiliate Mary, but it appeared that she had broken their agreement. Surely Joseph wondered why had she rejected him.

God understood Joseph's confusion. He knew that this man needed insight. To help him, the Lord gave Joseph a dream. In the dream, God used an angel to explain inexplicable actions that had been initiated by heaven:

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he 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. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:  

“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they they shall call his name Immanuel” 

(which means, God with us).  When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus (Matt. 18-25, ESV).

God lovingly intervened in Joseph's life. He illumined the path He was carving out for Joseph and Mary. They were to be the parents of the Son of God! And Joseph got it. After he woke up, he obeyed the angel's instructions. Joseph faced a challenging situation, but a word from God empowered him to face it.

One of the lessons we can draw from Joseph's role in the Christmas story is that we mustn't ignore our dreams. We need to study them, pray over them, and journal them. Within our dreams could lie miraculous messages God has customized for each of us.

One footnote: on the Jewish calendar, this is the month of Kislev. During Kislev, the Torah readings (the first five books of the Bible) in Jewish synagogues include passages featuring  nine dreams cited in the Torah. 

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