What do you do when you are confronted with the unexpected?  A Romanian man named Florin Mazilu found himself wondering exactly that after his bride to be dumped him just before the wedding.  Confronted with the unexpected, Mazilu resorted to an unexpected plan of action. He spread word in his hometown that he would marry any girl who fit into the wedding dress and the wedding ring he had ready bought. Within hours he had found 21-year-old local Ana Maria who was a perfect fit. Mazilu admits it was unusual, but says it has worked out beautifully.  "I knew she was perfect the moment I saw her." One can only wonder if he said that about the first one, too.
                                                                  
So, what do you do when you are confronted with the unexpected? What do you do when your plans don’t work out? How do you handle circumstances that are beyond your control? Most all of us have had to handle the unexpected. Even though you thought you knew what was going to happen, something else happened.  And your life changed.

 When Joseph faced this kind of situation, he reluctantly went to Plan B.  He decided to divorce Mary in order to spare her life. But then his plans changed again. God spoke to Joseph through a dream and basically said, “Don’t be afraid. It’s going to be OK. I am with you. I am not going to leave you. I realize that you had your life mapped out pretty well, but I also have some plans that involve you. You see, Mary is with child by the Holy Spirit. She is still a virgin.  She has not been with another man. Her devotion is still to you.  Just as you had planned all along, I want you to take Mary as your wife, complete the betrothal, and marry her. The baby she is carrying is a special baby. Sure, you did not plan it; neither did she. But I did.”

It was risky to stay with Mary, because she could have been stoned for adultery. Yet Joseph’s affection for Mary and his devotion to God were greater than any of his best-made plans. Through the dream, God had turned tragedy into hope.

 I think maybe God wants us to see something here.  When you go through a crisis, and you don’t have answers to your questions, take comfort in this—God is in control.  He has a plan for you that might not make any sense to you, but he will bring it to pass.