The following is a creative interpretation of what it might have been like for Joseph as Mary was close to giving birth to Jesus.

The Weight of the World

I will answer them before they even call to me. While they are still talking about their needs, I will go ahead and answer their prayers!” – Isaiah 65:24 (NLT)

Joseph was a skilled craftsman. He used stone, wood, and other materials to build and construct. We can assume that his father had been in this vocation and taught his son the family business. Had Jospeh learned how to work with his hands as a boy, near the place he was standing? Yet, instead of the familiar tools of the trade in his hand, the task before him was to locate temporary shelter for his new family—which consisted of his wife and the child on the way.

What was it like for Joseph when he had exhausted all his options for lodging in Bethlehem? Did he tenderly pull Mary in close, trying to offer reassurance that somehow things would work out—although he had no idea how? As the last door closed did his shoulders slump in defeat? The weight of the world pressing down on him.

His mission had been clear: to provide a place for Mary to give birth and yet he was staring down a dead end.

Mental Showdown

How could Joseph be the husband Mary needed if he couldn’t come up with provision for their predicament? If he couldn’t even solve this problem, how on earth would he have what it took to raise the Son of God?

Was the battle in Joseph’s mind a showdown between hisses of inadequacy lunging at flashbacks of God‘s faithfulness throughout his life?

How many times did he replay the angel’s message and instructions to him, in an effort to silence the accusations and rise above the insecurity that he was not the man for the job?

“Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:20-21).

Did Mary squeeze Joseph’s arm, looking up at him with urgency, as another contraction surged, this one more intense than the last?

Drawing strength from God’s clear directions, Joseph was compelled to keep searching for a place to lay their heads. Joseph’s strong, calloused hands were accustomed to providing what was needed. Yet those hands came up short as knock after knock on door after door didn’t lead to any viable solution. The task felt insurmountable.

An SOS Prayer

As a righteous man, did Joseph cling to his faith, believing that somehow this swirling sea of circumstances would part like the Red Sea had for his ancestors?

“Joseph!” Mary might’ve called out as another contraction seized around her abdomen. Did she reach for his hand, drawing strength from the man Jehovah had provided for her?

Was an SOS prayer offered by Joseph in that moment, “Yahweh, help. I’ve come up short. Please make a way.”

Was it soon after that a Bethlehem townsperson mercifully offered them shelter?

As the weary couple entered the humble space did they wonder why God hadn’t provided differently? This was His Son after all. And the Messiah was going to be born here of all places?

Or were Mary and Joseph mostly relieved, thankful to have shelter just in time for the delivery of Jesus—the firstborn?

The Weight of Provision

Was it then that Joseph noticed the manger? It wasn’t an ideal bed for a baby but it was something they could use. And something was better than nothing. Did he realize that God—this baby’s heavenly Father—had already arranged what was needed ahead of time? Before Joseph had called out for help, God had already provided the place for Jesus’s birth.

Isaiah 65:24 says, “I will answer them before they even call to me. While they are still talking about their needs, I will go ahead and answer their prayers!”

This breakthrough wasn’t something Joseph had to orchestrate it was something he was invited to participate in. The One who breathed stars, who formed man from dust, who was in a covenant relationship with His people, He was the One who came through. The weight of provision had been on Father God all along. He made a way, He parted the sea.

A gasp and groan escaped from Mary. It was time for Joseph to meet his son. Little did he know that the weight of the whole world would be on the shoulders of this baby who was now crowning. Jesus’s first cry was about to pierce the night. It almost sounded like the roar of a young lion.

Ponder this…

What burden do you need to cast onto Jesus’s capable shoulders? Take a moment to do that right now.