A little town that could

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, are only a small village among all the people of Judah. Yet a ruler of Israel, whose origins are in the distant past, will come from you on my behalf. —Micah 5:2

The Little Engine that Could is a beloved children’s classic that most of us have heard many times, and probably read to our own children or grandchildren a time or two. In it, a long train filled with toys for little kids must be pulled over a high mountain.

All the larger, stronger engines refuse the job, believing it to be beneath them. Then a small blue engine offers to try, saying, “I think I can,” over and over to himself until he finally crests the mountain and rolls down victoriously.

The lesson is to not overlook the smaller things, because they can do great things as well.

Bethlehem was a tiny, seemingly insignificant village. And when the prophet Micah prophesied hundreds of years before Jesus’ birth that out of Bethlehem would come a ruler over Israel, this would have seemed like a far-fetched notion.

But as we see time and again in God’s Word, God chooses the small, unimportant things for His great purposes. And that’s just what He did with the tiny town of Bethlehem. Out of this overlooked and unassuming village came the King of Kings, the Messiah.

This Advent, take time to remember that God chooses to use the small, the weak, and the unimportant to do His perfect will.  

No matter your position or stage in life, God wants to work through you as well.

Prayer Challenge

Ask God to show you how He wants to work through your life to accomplish great things for His Kingdom.

Questions for thought

Why do you think God chose a small, unimportant village like Bethlehem to be the birthplace of Jesus?

How have you seen God work through unexpected or unlikely people to bring blessings into your life?