This Week's Focal Passage:
"Then Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, "Blessed be he of the LORD, who has not forsaken His kindness to the living and the dead!…" Ruth 2:20
Have you ever felt alone? Abandoned? Forgotten? Forsaken? I certainly have. Life is full of mountaintop and valley experiences. We all prefer the mountaintop moments, but valleys often follow them. Sometimes, those valleys are so far down, you feel as though you will never see the light of day again. All throughout Scripture, God gives us examples of these moments in the life of His children. One example is Job. We all know the story…Job had everything - a wife, many children, property, livestock and his health. But in a moment, all that changed.
Why does the story of Job stand out to us? All of us have these moments. We may not loose everything in one day, but we experience loss such as loved ones, jobs, homes, relationships, and/or health at times during our lives. The story of Job is such an encouragement to us because Job never lost faith in the Lord God. In fact, Job praised the Lord God and continued to love Him and testify of Him during the trials that the Lord Himself had allowed to be upon Job. "Then his wife said to him, "Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!" But he said to her, "You speak as one of the foolish women speak. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we no accept adversity?" In all this Job did not sin with his lips" (Job 2:9-10). Often times, when things go in a direction we did not want or expect, we tend to blame God for not protecting us. We want a God who will work on our timetable and according to our desires.
The problem with that is that God will not be, as my pastor says, "anybody's puppet."
The Lord God is the Maker of the universe, the King of all kings, the Lord of all lords, the GREAT I AM!! How dare any of us to demand anything from the Lord God. True faith and a sincere trust in God is exemplified when the adversities come and we are joyful through the trial. James 1:2 says "My Brethren, count it all joy when you fall into varies trials." Joy in this verse is #5479 chara which means "glad, joyous." Does this mean that we are not to weep or pour our hearts out to the Lord God? Absolutely not!! God desires that we come boldly before His throne and pour our hearts out to Him. HE welcomes us with open arms (Hebrews 4:14-16). What God's Word is telling us is that we can be full of joy in the midst of the pain because God promises that when HE brings about difficulties, HE is accomplishing something wonderful in our hearts, minds, and souls. HE has an eternal purpose in mind!! "Knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing: (James 1:3-4).
Unfortunately, our flesh screams to be satisfied. We do not like pain, change, or a lack of control. From the beginning of time, pride and the desire to exalt oneself about the Lord God has penetrated our world. Lucifer, also known as Satan, was created to glorify the One True God, yet he chose to try to exalt himself above God. "For you have said in your heart: "I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne about the starts of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High" (Isaiah 14:13). This very thing is what Satan used to tempt Eve. "Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God…" (Genesis 3:4). And this is exactly what Satan uses to tempt us to rebel against the Lord God today.
Reread our focal passage once more. "Then Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, "Blessed be he of the LORD, who has not forsaken His kindness to the living and the dead!…" (Ruth 2:20). Forsaken in this verse is #5800 'azab which means "to depart from, leave behind, abandon." Kindness in this verse is hesed which refers to the covenant love that God made with His people. The story of Ruth is such a precious reminder of our God and His loving kindness even in the midst of great loss and pain. Naomi left Bethlehem "full" in her eyes. She had a husband and two sons. When the Lord drew her back to Bethlehem, Naomi did have her daughter-in-law, Ruth, but she had lost her husband and both sons to death in Moab. The Lord God continually reminded Naomi of His faithfulness and His covenant love. In verse 20, we see Naomi's heart begin to soften and her focus begin to change. She no longer viewed her loss as the Lord's abandonment but she began to recognize the Lord God's faithfulness in His remembrance of her and His lovingly provisions for her every need.
My Friend, how do you view God when your circumstances are different than what you want or expect? Do you blame Him for not acting the way you desire or do you praise Him because you know, truly know, that His ways are perfect and that HE is working to accomplish His eternal purposes in you and through you? May we each bow before the throne of grace and ask the Lord God to dig deep into our hearts and reveal to us any thing in us that is dishonoring to Him. May we seek to know Him more and to have a right view of Him!! "Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you. So we may boldly say: "The LORD is my helper; I will not fear…" (Hebrews 13:5-6)
