Where it hurts

I never cease to be amazed at how God meets us where we are exactly when we need it. There are thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of men and women around the world reading the exact same words that I am this week in the Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) study notes, and yet they reach right out and grab ME. There are a few particular thoughts from this week's study that I read yesterday and am praying will continue to resonate throughout this week, month, year....

We are studying the book of Matthew this year, and in our 4th week we are still at the beginning, taking a fresh look at the birth of Jesus. What, you say, could possibly be new about his birth story? We are all quite familiar with it. We hear it every Christmas. But these thoughts helped me relate it to the identity struggles I'm facing right now:

"If Jesus, the Lord of Glory, was willing to be known as the son of a carpenter in an obscure town, are you willing to do some service for Him, however hidden and humble that service might be?"

"Are you willing to do your work today, realizing that just as Jesus showed all carpenters how the Son of God pleased God as a carpenter, so you as 'homemaker' or 'engineer' live today to show the people around you how the Son of God within you lives the homemaker's or engineer's life to the glory of God?"

"Do not say, 'I cannot do this in my circumstances.' God has put you there, and with God nothing is impossible. This is God's will for you; and if it is God's will, it is workable if you will cooperate with Him and let Him work it out through you..."

Wow, that really hits me where it hurts.