From Matthew 2:19-23 / Asking the Author – When Adam and Eve were tempted in the Garden, one thing they failed to do when confronted and confused by Satan’s “did God actually say?” – was to go back to The Father and seek clarification. They thought they had a clear grasp of the command. But when push came to shove, their uncertainty led to untold ruin. What might have been prevented had they simply run back to the Father instead of relying only upon themselves? And is that same situation not repeated over and over when representatives of cults and challenges from skeptics shake the foundations of some believers? Rather than going back to the Word, to reliable resources, to do the hard study, and especially to pray and seek the Lord to know His Word better, they rely solely upon self, and are so easily derailed. So Joseph here, when spoken to by God in a dream, obeys. But when confronted with unexpected information, apparently stops. He waits. And he is given more light in his waiting. He does not assume that in having some truth, he has all of it. He does not proceed foolishly. That is not faith. Using sound reason because something seems amiss, he waits. And in due time, he is given further instruction – even fulfilling prophecy. It is not a lack of faith or disobedience, upon getting further information, to seek God again regarding that which He has already spoken. We may apply to Him over and over as the need arises and situations change. Even as the Disciples often asked Jesus to explain what He meant by some of the parables. They didn’t just run off assuming they knew it all. By some mystery, the sovereign, timeless and changeless One moves through life with us. And when we continually look to Him, not running off half-cocked, He meets us in the midst of our reality. Faith does not operate contrary to or absent of – reason. It acts reasonably upon the light God gives.