But I want to clear something up guys. Joy isn’t just
happiness. It’s not a feeling. It’s not about always smiling all the time. No,
joy is about remembering that God is good no matter what’s going on in your
life. It’s about thanking God when you’re happy and praising Him when you’re
sad. It’s about remembering the good things God has done and has given you,
even when everything seems to be going wrong. And when you believe in Jesus, He
will help you to grow joyful in all things!
But sometimes, especially when things are hard, we forget
this important truth. When everything seems to be going wrong, it can become
really tough to remember that God always loves us and will always take care of
us. That’s why I think it’s so great that in the story of Ruth, God constantly
reminds us that He is good, that He provides, and that He’s the only one who
can truly save us.
So over the next three weeks, we’re going to be looking at
these three different parts of who God is: His goodness, love, and saving
power. And we’re going to do this through the eyes of three different people:
Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz. So let’s begin by hearing from Naomi about a really
tough time in her life and the good God who helped her through:
________________________
It was 10 years ago that I left my home. 10 long years since
I left my family and my friends in Israel. I remember being sad then. I didn’t
really want to go. But the famine was so harsh – it was so hot and dry and there
was so little food. The only way we were going to survive was if we left. I
said good-bye to my home that day. I honestly thought I’d never come back.
My name is Naomi, and this is the story of my life so far.
My husband was named Elimelek. Oh, how I miss that man.
Elimelek always had a way of making me smile. I remember how kind he was to our
sons, Mahlon and Kilion, when they were young. Elimelek would come in from the
fields after a long day’s work, exhausted and probably wanting nothing more
than to just sit down for a few minutes, but he would always make time for our
two boys. Mahlon would show off one of his carvings, while Kilion looked over
his dad’s shoulder in awe at his brother’s work.
I would watch those boys – my boys – and smile. Oh how I’d
smile.
But then the famine came. The sun grew hot, the crops
stopped growing. Elimelek worked longer days to bring home less food. Eventually,
we had no choice. We packed up and left for a new country: Moab. Moab would
never be home – not really – but God was in His heaven watching out for us, and
we made a good life for ourselves I guess. We were happy. Elimelek found work,
and ours sons found love.
I remember how proud Elimelek was when Kilion married Orpah.
How proud we both were! She was a great girl for him, so kind and giving. But
Ruth… Oh, even then Ruth was someone special. She loved Mahlon with all her
heart. And she quickly showed that love to me and Elimelek too. Ruth truly was
like a daughter to us – both her and Orpah were. I couldn’t have asked for
better daughters-in-law. They made our time in Moab a time of love and
thankfulness.
If only we could have stayed that way! I often wondered – I
still sometimes wonder – why God let that happy time end. Why he took Elimelek to
heaven so soon. Why both he and my sons had to die. There are still some days
it hurts to think about it. I’m not sure that pain will ever really go away.
Those were dark times for me. I was angry at God. All I
wanted to do was scream to the heavens, “WHY!?!” I’m not sure I’ll ever know
the answer fully. But recent days have shown me that I can still find joy in
God, even if I don’t understand everything He does. And if any of you have
faced things in your life that have hurt you and you can’t understand, I hope
you’ll listen closely to my story.
I learned what it means to be truly joyful the day I left
Moab to return home. God had finally stopped the famine in Israel, and there
was plenty of food there. That was the first gleam of hope I had felt in a long
time – that even though my husband and sons were dead, I could finally go home
and know there would be enough food to eat.
But I couldn’t bear to ask Orpah or Ruth to come with me. My
sons – their husbands – were dead. Ruth and Orpah had grown up in Moab. They
had no reason to stay with me any longer, and it wasn’t fair for me to ask them
to come to a strange new land with me. And so, I said to them, “Both of you go
back. Each of you go to your own mother’s home. You were so kind to your husbands,
who have died. You have also been kind to me. So may the LORD be just as kind
to you. May the LORD help each of you find rest in the home of another husband”
(Ruth 1:8-9, NIrV).
There was much crying that day. We all loved each other very
much, but I knew that letting them stay in Moab was the best thing for them.
But I wept to say good-bye, knowing that I would be all alone when I returned
home.
After some time, Orpah kissed me and left. But Ruth… Ruth
wouldn’t go. No matter what I said or how many times I told her that I would be
okay, Ruth just clung on to me even tighter. I’ll never forget her words:
“Don’t try to make me leave you and go back. Where you go I’ll go. Where you
stay I’ll say. Your people will be my people. Your God will be my God” (Ruth
1:16). Ruth promised to stay with me as long as she lived and to help take care
of me. And I knew that she meant every word.
I’m pretty sure I cried even more after that. But these new
tears weren’t tears of sadness. They were tears of joy! I was glad to be going
home, but Ruth made me even happier when she said she wouldn’t leave me. I knew
that from that day forward, I wouldn’t be alone. That even though things had
been so difficult, Ruth was never going to leave. And for the moment, I could
take comfort in that.
I wish I could say that Ruth taught me something about God’s
love and goodness that day. After all, the love that Ruth showed me– a love
that refuses to leave or give up – is exactly like the love God shows to us.
And in time, yes, I did begin to see this.
But at that time, I was still so sad. I was still angry and
hurt and missed my family. But Ruth helped me grow a little less sad. She gave
me a reason to be joyful, even when everything else seemed awful.
And honestly, I believe that God put someone like Ruth in my
life to teach me just that. That even when everything seems to be falling
apart, even when it seems like everything is against us – God is still good.
And He will show that goodness in little ways all the time: in the blessings He
gives us and the godly people He places in our lives. We just need to be
willing to see His goodness in the hard times.
That’s something I really hope that you will remember: that
even when we’re super sad or angry, God’s
goodness gives us reasons to be joyful.
And yes, sometimes those reminders of God’s goodness might be hard to
see, but they’re always there. It could be remembering something special that
happened to you. It could be the words of a song or a story that remind you of
how great God is. Or it might even be that God gives you an encouraging friend
like Ruth to help you get through these tough times. But whatever that reminder
of God’s goodness is, hold on to it when things do get tough.
And if you are hurting today, know that God will get you
through. I was still very sad and angry when Ruth and I returned to Israel, but
I held on to my memories of God’s goodness. And in time, I saw that God’s plan
really was best, and I grew less sad and angry. In fact, it wasn’t long before I
was praising and thanking God once again with a joyful heart!
But I’ll let Ruth tell you that story another time. Until
then, remember God’s goodness, and be joyful no matter how you may be
feeling.
~Brentagious
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