My neck of the woods

“So they asked him, ‘Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you’?”

Jonah 1:8

My neck of the woods refers to the region or area a person lives in or grew up in. Neck is a British term referring to a slender area of land usually surrounded by water on two sides but has now evolved into any rural part of the community.

Everyone is from somewhere. We are stamped with our place of birth on our birth certificates the day we were born and that will forever be where we are from. I grew up on the county line road just outside of town on a farm where everyone knew one another. I haved lived in different places over the years but that will forever be “home”.

Scripture seems to place a lot of importance on where the people in the stories are from and who were “their people”. This helps us identify with them and understand the complexity of human nature. Jonah, for instance, was a Hebrew and when asked to leave home and go to Nineveh, He refused because they were Gentiles against Israel. When he was fleeing on the ship, the sailors wanted to know who he was and where he was from in Jonah 1:8. God used Jonah to show His compassion on everyone regardless of where they are from and changed their hearts.

Ruth also showed compassion on the new family she wed into when she wouldn’t abandon Naomi and go back home after her husband died. God transplants us for His purpose to accomplish His plans. Joseph is another who was transplanted through slavery but ended up saving his entire family and the nation of Israel from the drought. One more example is Ester who was a simple Jewish girl who was transformed into a queen and risked her life to save her people.

Regardless of what neck of the woods we are from, God can use us when we are discerning his voice. Proverbs 2:1-2 says, “My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding.” He has called each of us to a purpose to make a difference in the lives of those we touch and has given us His Word to store in our hearts. Sometimes we are deliberately transplanted so we can be used for His glory just as He used those chosen in the Bible.