it's not over

Good Afternoon Friends, Family, Foes … Everyone

Yes, I am greeting everyone this afternoon

Remember I said in our post 'choose to love',

‘Not everyone who comes to check on you is checking to see that you are doing well’?

But, if they take the time to check – you should at least be cordial

Why? Because we love all people and we trust the Holy Spirit to move – with all people

Now, that is not directly my topic this morning – but it is still all about love

And this morning, I want us all to understand something: 

No matter what it looks like, no matter how it feels, irrespective of how long the storm has been raging, despite your weariness – it’s not over

 

We have spent a great deal of time talking about Naomi

However, I would like to shift gears and talk about Ruth – the namesake of our Bible book

Now, we already know how Ruth’s story ended

But it would have been really easy, at any point along the way, for her to believe it was over

Therefore, I would like to focus on how Ruth’s story evolved and the role that love played

Ruth faced loss similar to Naomi – they both lost husbands

But where Naomi turned to bitterness – Ruth focused on living in love

She loved Naomi enough to leave parents, friends, country and everything familiar

She loved her future enough to refuse to be stuck in the past

Sounds extreme but, as we’ve noted previously, love will make you do some things

Now, we know from yesterday that Ruth ended up with a new love story

She ends up catching the eye of a local bachelor named Boaz

But what was it that Boaz found attractive about Ruth?

In a culture where widows were seen as misfortuned, what would make him take a chance?

It was her faithful and sacrificing nature … it was her love

“I’ve been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband – how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know. May you be richly rewarded by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.” Ruth 2:11-12

Ruth’s name means ‘compassionate friend’ and that is exactly who she was

Her reputation of being a loving friend went before her and spoke on her behalf

Boaz had been told of what a friend she had been to Naomi

It had reached his attention all the things she did in love for her mother-in-law

He had been made aware of her selfless nature

Selflessness is attractive – selflessness not selfishness

And Boaz quickly took notice

You will recall his name means ‘swiftness’,

Emphasizing how quickly a situation can change when you walk in love

Even when you think it is over, the LORD can turn things around with a swiftness

It’s not over

Love will position you to keep believing when it seems all is lost

Love can pave the way for you to begin again

Love refuses to let you stagnate, remaining frozen in the past

Love will propel you forward –

Love lets you know that it’s not over

It creates new beginnings for you – just like it did for Ruth

And aren’t we all glad that she did not stop walking and living in love?

After all, she ended up becoming Jesus’ great-great grandma by over forty generations

So today – whatever you are facing, 'Keep going! It’s not over!'

‘Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, neither has it entered into the mind the things God has prepared for those who love Him.’ I Corinthians 2:9

You never know what God has in store for you …

 Have a Blessed Day!

‘ I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future’

Jeremiah 29:11

choose to love

Good Evening –

I pray your Monday went well and that your week is off to a good start

I also hope that your Valentine’s Day was, well, lovely

Me, I thoroughly enjoyed my day

But how many of you know that not every day is Valentine’s Day?

It is easy to love those who love you – and to love life when life is loving you

But what do you do when it seems like everything is going wrong?

You choose to love anyway …

As promised, we will be continuing our focus on love through the remainder of February

And today we will be re-visiting the story of Naomi

We started her story in our post the saddest valentines

And, you will recall that Naomi had been hit hard by some of life’s challenges

She had lost her husband and two sons while living in a foreign land …

So she finds herself returning to her hometown – with one daughter-in-law,

                Ruth, the daughter-in-law who refused to leave her side

Yet, when she reaches her village she tells the ladies:

“Don’t call me Naomi [which means pleasant], she told them. “Call me Mara [which means bitter], because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The LORD has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me?” Ruth 1:20-21

Hurt will hurt you – so much so that it will be all you can see at times

I understand why Naomi felt as she did

She experienced tremendous loss,

And it is likely not all the women who came to greet her were happy to see her

After a long journey, I am certain she was dusty, tired and looking worn out

“… the women exclaimed, “Can this be Naomi?” I Ruth 1:19

There is absolutely no way to be certain of their intentions

Some – I am sure – were very happy to see her once again after so many years

However – knowing the nature of people – some likely used it as an opportunity to mock

‘Could this be the same Naomi who left here so blessed and full of hope – returning to the people she left behind, disheveled and alone, without husband, sons or wealth?’

You know how people can be sometimes

Not everyone who comes to check on you is checking to see that you are doing well

But their intentions or perspective didn’t really matter,

Naomi already had enough on her mind all on her own

Her faith was weather-beaten from the storms of life she had experienced and she was feeling bitter

One online source defines bitterness as being angry, hurt, or resentful because of one's bad experiences or a sense of unjust treatment

It is hard enough to go through difficulties – especially if you feel like you deserved better

But we must all understand – no one deserves anything

Further, the rain falls on the just and the unjust

The LORD God Almighty …

‘He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and unrighteous’ Matthew 5:45

This is a first-hand testimony from Jesus

In fact, in the verse immediately preceding that verse He says,

“Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” Matthew 5:44

 

God is Love –

The LORD is well able to handle your enemies;

You focus on handling your heart

And this is what the LORD will do – when you choose to love anyway,

‘He will make your enemies your footstool’ Psalm 110:1

‘He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun.’

Psalm 37:6

The 2021 Modern Day Translation of Psalm 37:6?

He will give your enemies a front row seat to the blessing show

Now – that is not why we choose to love anyway, but it is one of the side effects

Naomi’s story has a happy ending!

We will talk about it some more tomorrow …

 

Have a Blessed Evening!

‘ Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies … my cup runneth over’

Psalm 23:5