Friday, January 23, 2009

Ruth and Naomi

Last night I was invited to speak at a nearby church to their women's group. It was an honor to be invited, as that's not something I normally do outside of the Bible School where we work. The Lord led me to share about Adversity and our needs during this time.

1) When we are having difficulties our tendency is to hide and push people away, like Naomi wanted to do with her daughter-in-laws.
2) We also tend to get angry with God and point our fingers at Him. Naomi was filled with bitterness and blamed God for all her troubles. Ruth stuck by her, even when I'm sure she wasn't a real pleasure to be with.
3) We need to allow God to heal us and use our trials and adversities for His glory.

If Naomi's husband and sons hadn't died, Ruth would never have met Boaz and married him, and they were King David's grandparents! Imagine! God used all these things to birth the King after His Own Heart. From the lineage of King David we have Jesus. So, we need to remember that our trials and suffering will be used to bring glory to God in the long run, even though we don't understand it at the moment. If you are a friend of someone suffering, don't allow them to push you away - just quietly tend to their needs and stick by them even when it gets rough. You will see them through to the other side!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow! Excellent message, Jan!! The topic was definitely God-directed. Thank you for sharing it here, too!
Linda

Amrita said...

Yes Jan there is truly blessing and encouragement and truth in that post.

Dr Stanly Jones , missionary to India wrote we must use our pain to glorify God. i like that concept.