Texas is a strange land. Things are just a little different in Texas. Sometimes I can’t quite put my finger on it, but there’s this feeling that I don’t belong here, that I am an outsider in an insider world. Don’t get me wrong – people here are polite and friendly, but most of the people around here have roots deeper than the California Redwoods. And I don’t – I don’t have that common sense of history, those common memories, that sense of settledness that seems to come with the territory. I’m single and I’ve been rather transient. I’m used to coming and going, but not necessarily staying.
I take great encouragement in the fact that Ruth was a foreigner too and very much an outsider in an insider world, an outsider geographically and an outsider religiously. I can just almost hear the gossip now –Who does she think she is? The covenant doesn’t apply to her. Over and over again the author of Ruth refers to her as Ruth the Moabitess – as if she actually wears a label saying outsider stamped on her forehead. I can relate. Sometimes, we can’t hide that the fact that we stick out like a sore thumb in a place where everyone knows everyone.
But what I like about Ruth is that she doesn’t just sit around hanging out with Naomi. She ventures out. She decides to be productive, to go about building some kind of life. She knows she & Naomi need food and she sets out to provide, even when she’s not so sure what she is doing. You could say it was reckless and dangerous to set out by herself to go glean in other people’s fields. She was young, single, poor, and a foreigner, probably the most vulnerable of all people. She sets out by herself, though, to do something, something rather than nothing. At the time, she had no idea how God would provide. She had no idea the story yet to be written. She just made a decision to do the best thing she knew to do and left the rest in God’s hands.
Sometimes starting over is like learning to walk, taking a couple of steps and falling down and getting back up again. And I’ve learned that sometimes I don’t know what to do to make things be okay, to get where God wants me to be, to get to the insider track. Sometimes I just step out and do something, hoping that God will bless it, that He will protect me even in light of my sometimes seemingly reckless decisions.
And He does. Several times this week as I have been pondering this study, God has brought to my mind my move to Columbia almost five years ago. It is almost eerie how similar the struggles are, the questions, the fears, and the process of settling in to a new environment. But what is so wonderful is seeing how God placed me right where I needed to be, answered those questions and resolved those fears over time, and led me to a peace and settledness that was much more real than geography.
Now, as I find myself asking questions or missing home, I look back at the answers He provided before, and I hear Him saying the same thing. Trust me. I work all things for good and I am at work here for your good and for a greater good. I am in control. And I care. I’m not done writing the story yet.
I look forward to letting Him write the story and to discovering the end He has in store, for Ruth and for me. Good things await. God things await.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Giving, Stubborness, & Second Chances
Imagine two brothers, different personalities & interests. Imagine growing up together in a close-knit family and just imagine there is some sibling rivalry going on. Perhaps over the years, the brothers went their separate ways so to speak and made different choices in their lives. Then imagine them both coming to church and presenting their gifts to God - the fruits of their labor, time and energy. Now picture one of those brothers being recognized and commended for his offering and the other not. The second brother's offering was frowned upon and found to be wanting. And oh, the sibling rivalry comes full throttle and all that built up resentment from the years comes rushing back. That scene, between Cain & Abel, is where we pick up today with the Genesis Story, Genesis chapter 4.
This story is not so much about the sibling rivalry but really about Cain and his personal struggle with sin. Cain & Abel are brothers - Abel was a shepherd, and Cain was a farmer. Both of them came to present their offerings to God. Abel comes, we are told, bringing the firstborn of his flock (v 4). We find out in Hebrews, that Abel brought his offering in faith, out of a righteous heart toward God (Hebrews 11:4). In contrast, we are not told much about Cain’s offering, other than his offering was displeasing to God. We are not told that Cain gave the best, or the first fruits, or that his heart was righteous toward God. No such commentary.
I wonder how God reflects on our giving? If He were writing commentary on our offerings, would He say they reflect a righteous heart like Abel? Would He be pleased? Would He say that we had given our best and our first? Or does He look with displeasure on our offerings, seeing not just what we gave but what we held back from Him? Would he see our hearts were more focused on giving ourselves a pat on the back, or on truly worshipping God as the giver of all good things?
Those questions haunt me, as I think they should haunt all of us. I want to please God. I want to give God my best, but I know I don’t always live up to that. Sometimes, I put everything else in my life first and then give Him whatever time, money, energy is left over. And I know it must grieve Him so much; it so displeases and dishonors Him. But there is hope, for me and for all of us. God calls us back to Himself, reminds us that He only is worthy of our worship and praise. He wants and expects our best.
Look at how He responds to Cain – God engages Cain in conversation. He doesn’t just get angry at Cain and ignore him or punish him. Rather, He gets right to the heart of the matter and asks Cain to look at his own behavior, to examine his own heart. God lets Cain know this is not a favorite contest between Cain & Abel, but rather a matter of Cain’s heart. In fact, God clearly tells Cain that if he will do what is right, he will be accepted too (v7). But Cain is stubborn. He doesn’t listen. He gets angry at God and at Abel. God says, look at this. “Sin is crouching at your door. It desires to have you, but you must master it” (v4). Cain ignores God’s warnings. He blazes on by, gives in to his anger, and kills his brother Abel. He let sin win.
I’ve been there too. Maybe we all have, times when we get stubborn toward God, when we know we are wrong, but don’t want to hear it, don’t want to change. There have been times I have known I was in dangerous territory, when I felt sin crouching at my door. And I had the chance to walk away, but I didn’t, times when I let sin win. And those times brought serious consequences, just like they did for Cain (vv 10-16). But thankfully, there have also been times when I made the better choice, when I saw the dangers ahead, when God got my attention, and I was able to escape the danger, times when God’s grace spared me from walking down the wrong path. I’m so grateful for those times, times when I had a second chance to do the right thing and to make the right choice, to have the right heart toward God and toward others.
The right heart… what was God looking for in Cain? What did he desire? And what does he desire from us? All through the sermon today on this story, one passage kept coming to my mind in answer to this question, Romans 12:1-2 – “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship….then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is, His good, pleasing, and perfect will.”
What God wanted all along was Cain’s heart, a heart that would seek to please Him – that was the act of worship, not bringing produce to lay on an altar, but bringing his life to the altar, as one set apart for the will and pleasure of God. And that is what God desires of each of us – to give Him our lives, our best, our all, to worship Him and to please Him with the way we live our lives.
Note: This reflection was prompted by Dr Mike Toby's sermon on 9/17 on Genesis 4. This sermon is part of a series of messages on Genesis at First Baptist Church Woodway.To download sermons, visit the church website: http://www.fbcwoodway.org/resources/sermons/.
This story is not so much about the sibling rivalry but really about Cain and his personal struggle with sin. Cain & Abel are brothers - Abel was a shepherd, and Cain was a farmer. Both of them came to present their offerings to God. Abel comes, we are told, bringing the firstborn of his flock (v 4). We find out in Hebrews, that Abel brought his offering in faith, out of a righteous heart toward God (Hebrews 11:4). In contrast, we are not told much about Cain’s offering, other than his offering was displeasing to God. We are not told that Cain gave the best, or the first fruits, or that his heart was righteous toward God. No such commentary.
I wonder how God reflects on our giving? If He were writing commentary on our offerings, would He say they reflect a righteous heart like Abel? Would He be pleased? Would He say that we had given our best and our first? Or does He look with displeasure on our offerings, seeing not just what we gave but what we held back from Him? Would he see our hearts were more focused on giving ourselves a pat on the back, or on truly worshipping God as the giver of all good things?
Those questions haunt me, as I think they should haunt all of us. I want to please God. I want to give God my best, but I know I don’t always live up to that. Sometimes, I put everything else in my life first and then give Him whatever time, money, energy is left over. And I know it must grieve Him so much; it so displeases and dishonors Him. But there is hope, for me and for all of us. God calls us back to Himself, reminds us that He only is worthy of our worship and praise. He wants and expects our best.
Look at how He responds to Cain – God engages Cain in conversation. He doesn’t just get angry at Cain and ignore him or punish him. Rather, He gets right to the heart of the matter and asks Cain to look at his own behavior, to examine his own heart. God lets Cain know this is not a favorite contest between Cain & Abel, but rather a matter of Cain’s heart. In fact, God clearly tells Cain that if he will do what is right, he will be accepted too (v7). But Cain is stubborn. He doesn’t listen. He gets angry at God and at Abel. God says, look at this. “Sin is crouching at your door. It desires to have you, but you must master it” (v4). Cain ignores God’s warnings. He blazes on by, gives in to his anger, and kills his brother Abel. He let sin win.
I’ve been there too. Maybe we all have, times when we get stubborn toward God, when we know we are wrong, but don’t want to hear it, don’t want to change. There have been times I have known I was in dangerous territory, when I felt sin crouching at my door. And I had the chance to walk away, but I didn’t, times when I let sin win. And those times brought serious consequences, just like they did for Cain (vv 10-16). But thankfully, there have also been times when I made the better choice, when I saw the dangers ahead, when God got my attention, and I was able to escape the danger, times when God’s grace spared me from walking down the wrong path. I’m so grateful for those times, times when I had a second chance to do the right thing and to make the right choice, to have the right heart toward God and toward others.
The right heart… what was God looking for in Cain? What did he desire? And what does he desire from us? All through the sermon today on this story, one passage kept coming to my mind in answer to this question, Romans 12:1-2 – “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship….then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is, His good, pleasing, and perfect will.”
What God wanted all along was Cain’s heart, a heart that would seek to please Him – that was the act of worship, not bringing produce to lay on an altar, but bringing his life to the altar, as one set apart for the will and pleasure of God. And that is what God desires of each of us – to give Him our lives, our best, our all, to worship Him and to please Him with the way we live our lives.
Note: This reflection was prompted by Dr Mike Toby's sermon on 9/17 on Genesis 4. This sermon is part of a series of messages on Genesis at First Baptist Church Woodway.To download sermons, visit the church website: http://www.fbcwoodway.org/resources/sermons/.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Mother in Laws & Religion
Chapter 1 of the Ruth Saga continues... Today, we read about Naomi asking Ruth & Orpah, her two widowed daughter in laws, to return and go back to Moab. Indulge me in a picture of how this scene may have transpired, in a completely fictionalized scenario. We don’t know much about what actually happened from scripture, but just imagine what it might look like today. Imagine…
Imagine getting married to someone of a different faith, knowing the parents likely will not approve. (The Moabites were enemies of the Israelites… A Moabite probably was not the spouse Naomi wished for either of her sons.) Imagine getting married anyway and just learning to deal with the topic of religion when it comes up with his family. Maybe it’s just easier to pretend to believe the same things, to worship the same God, to silence the talk of all those “differences.” Or maybe you and your spouse compromise – choose to worship together, one week with his God, the other week with your gods. Maybe you enjoy learning more about his religion, his beliefs, his people, their culture, their faith. Maybe it’s intriguing, even if it is different from the ways you were taught, the gods that you serve, the beliefs of your people. Or maybe you just want your mother-in-law to stop holding your faith against you. Maybe you just want to get along and not replay the same faith argument over and over.
Imagine, now, that it’s several years after you got married. Your father-in-law dies, and then you husband dies. You still have a relationship with your mother-in-law, but now it’s not the same. You are both grieving. You both are facing lonely and impoverished lives as heir-less widows. But now, you don’t have to get along. You don’t have to pretend anymore to like her faith or her people, her culture. Your husband isn’t there to urge the two of you to play nice and get along. He isn’t there to mitigate the faith conversation and now you don’t have to care or explain or bother with the differences. Now you are free to worship as you please. And, your mother-in-law is preparing to return to her country. You start to go along, because you think you should. You don’t want to leave her and hear her complain again about how horrible her life is and how she has been abandoned by everyone, even God, and now even you. You just aren’t in the mood to hear her complain, so you take the path of least resistance which is to just join her. You might stay for awhile and then come up with an excuse later or a family “emergency” to turn back.
And then, wonder of all wonders, your mother-in-law gives you a way out. She brings up going back. She urges you to go back. It catches you off guard. You can’t believe she is being this nice, that she understands, that she gets it. She does see that all your hopes of getting remarried lie in your hometown, not in her land, with her people. Ah, this is the best gift she could give you, a guilt-free option to return home….
Now I realize this is a fictionalized account based on my imagination of this scene. But doesn’t it put this story in perspective a little bit? Could you imagine being in an inter-faith marriage, a marriage attached with a great deal of stigma, and then choosing to return with your mother-in-law?
It really defies reason. I completely understand Orpah turning back in the story (Ruth 1:14). But, Ruth stays. Three times, Naomi gives her a way out, and three times Ruth chooses to stay. Why? In verse 15 Naomi makes her final plea, “Look, your sister in law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her” (v15). Now, don’t you think this is typical mother-in-law behavior, bringing up the touchy subject of religion here? In our fictionalized account, this is your mother in law saying, I am on to you. You don’t have to pretend anymore to like my God. I know you were playing nice for your husband’s sake. I’m not going to try to win you over anymore to our beliefs. You are free to worship as you choose. Let’s not fight anymore and just go our separate ways.
So, here is the amazing part – Ruth wasn’t pretending. Somewhere along the way, her beliefs changed. Somewhere along the way, she turns her back on her culture and her people in lieu of something better. She boldly professes to Naomi – No, “Your people will be my people and your God, my God” (v16). Why? She worshipped many gods. She could have just added the God of Israel as one of her many gods. She could have went with Naomi without converting to her faith – after all, she had lived as a Moabite for years without converting to her husband’s faith.
Why? I am left wondering the why. I don’t have the clear answer from scripture, but speculating again, I suspect that something got her attention. Maybe she had heard of God’s blessing on the Israelites and His covenant with them. Maybe she had heard rumors of the Promised Land. In her statement to Naomi, though, she personalizes God, my God. So I think she had experienced Him personally in some way, through her relationship with her husband or Naomi. I suspect their love for her echoed God’s love. I imagine she saw something in them, even through the family tragedies that spoke of a peace or comfort that her gods couldn’t provide. Maybe they left her craving to know more and willing to continue on the journey with her mother-in-law, willing to choose to follow this other God and experience Him for herself.
As I ponder this story, I am left with some haunting questions, and I pose them to you as well – Do we echo God’s love for others? Is there something about our lives that leaves others craving to know God more? Are there times we go through the motions with faith, pretending to go along with the beliefs of others or unsure of what we believe? Or do we personalize our relationship with Him and choose Him over all the other false gods and distractions around?
Thank you for reading and for sharing this part of Ruth’s journey with me. Stay tuned for more, the saga is just beginning.
Imagine getting married to someone of a different faith, knowing the parents likely will not approve. (The Moabites were enemies of the Israelites… A Moabite probably was not the spouse Naomi wished for either of her sons.) Imagine getting married anyway and just learning to deal with the topic of religion when it comes up with his family. Maybe it’s just easier to pretend to believe the same things, to worship the same God, to silence the talk of all those “differences.” Or maybe you and your spouse compromise – choose to worship together, one week with his God, the other week with your gods. Maybe you enjoy learning more about his religion, his beliefs, his people, their culture, their faith. Maybe it’s intriguing, even if it is different from the ways you were taught, the gods that you serve, the beliefs of your people. Or maybe you just want your mother-in-law to stop holding your faith against you. Maybe you just want to get along and not replay the same faith argument over and over.
Imagine, now, that it’s several years after you got married. Your father-in-law dies, and then you husband dies. You still have a relationship with your mother-in-law, but now it’s not the same. You are both grieving. You both are facing lonely and impoverished lives as heir-less widows. But now, you don’t have to get along. You don’t have to pretend anymore to like her faith or her people, her culture. Your husband isn’t there to urge the two of you to play nice and get along. He isn’t there to mitigate the faith conversation and now you don’t have to care or explain or bother with the differences. Now you are free to worship as you please. And, your mother-in-law is preparing to return to her country. You start to go along, because you think you should. You don’t want to leave her and hear her complain again about how horrible her life is and how she has been abandoned by everyone, even God, and now even you. You just aren’t in the mood to hear her complain, so you take the path of least resistance which is to just join her. You might stay for awhile and then come up with an excuse later or a family “emergency” to turn back.
And then, wonder of all wonders, your mother-in-law gives you a way out. She brings up going back. She urges you to go back. It catches you off guard. You can’t believe she is being this nice, that she understands, that she gets it. She does see that all your hopes of getting remarried lie in your hometown, not in her land, with her people. Ah, this is the best gift she could give you, a guilt-free option to return home….
Now I realize this is a fictionalized account based on my imagination of this scene. But doesn’t it put this story in perspective a little bit? Could you imagine being in an inter-faith marriage, a marriage attached with a great deal of stigma, and then choosing to return with your mother-in-law?
It really defies reason. I completely understand Orpah turning back in the story (Ruth 1:14). But, Ruth stays. Three times, Naomi gives her a way out, and three times Ruth chooses to stay. Why? In verse 15 Naomi makes her final plea, “Look, your sister in law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her” (v15). Now, don’t you think this is typical mother-in-law behavior, bringing up the touchy subject of religion here? In our fictionalized account, this is your mother in law saying, I am on to you. You don’t have to pretend anymore to like my God. I know you were playing nice for your husband’s sake. I’m not going to try to win you over anymore to our beliefs. You are free to worship as you choose. Let’s not fight anymore and just go our separate ways.
So, here is the amazing part – Ruth wasn’t pretending. Somewhere along the way, her beliefs changed. Somewhere along the way, she turns her back on her culture and her people in lieu of something better. She boldly professes to Naomi – No, “Your people will be my people and your God, my God” (v16). Why? She worshipped many gods. She could have just added the God of Israel as one of her many gods. She could have went with Naomi without converting to her faith – after all, she had lived as a Moabite for years without converting to her husband’s faith.
Why? I am left wondering the why. I don’t have the clear answer from scripture, but speculating again, I suspect that something got her attention. Maybe she had heard of God’s blessing on the Israelites and His covenant with them. Maybe she had heard rumors of the Promised Land. In her statement to Naomi, though, she personalizes God, my God. So I think she had experienced Him personally in some way, through her relationship with her husband or Naomi. I suspect their love for her echoed God’s love. I imagine she saw something in them, even through the family tragedies that spoke of a peace or comfort that her gods couldn’t provide. Maybe they left her craving to know more and willing to continue on the journey with her mother-in-law, willing to choose to follow this other God and experience Him for herself.
As I ponder this story, I am left with some haunting questions, and I pose them to you as well – Do we echo God’s love for others? Is there something about our lives that leaves others craving to know God more? Are there times we go through the motions with faith, pretending to go along with the beliefs of others or unsure of what we believe? Or do we personalize our relationship with Him and choose Him over all the other false gods and distractions around?
Thank you for reading and for sharing this part of Ruth’s journey with me. Stay tuned for more, the saga is just beginning.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Eden - The Center of God's Will
The Garden of Eden - a place created especially for Adam & Eve, a place of indescribable beauty and unmistakable pleasure – Here, Adam & Eve were free to enjoy the best of God’s creation under His provision and protection. This was paradise created by God for them, out of His good will and for His good pleasure. When he saw that it was not good for man to be alone, He created woman (Genesis 2: 18). The garden was full of trees that were “pleasing to the eye and good for food” (2:9). In every sense, He wanted the very best for them and for us.
Sometimes we think that God’s will is this scary place, somewhere to be dreaded and feared, somewhere horrible where God might call us to go, or that He wants something bad for us, that He is someone who wants to take away our freedom or that He is unreasonable and unjust. But that’s not the truth of scripture. Here, from the very beginning, God creates beauty and goodness for His children. He wanted them to enjoy the abundance of life and to have an incredibly intimate and beautiful relationship with Him.
The goodness of these plans is echoed in Jeremiah. Even while proclaiming the coming judgment and exile of the Israelites, even when bad days were coming, God reminds them that He is working for their ultimate good. “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11). And indeed Jesus comes (God Himself) and proclaims, “I have come that they may have life, and have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).
With those assurances that God cares and is working for my good and for our good, we don’t have to be afraid of His will. We don’t have to wonder if God is out to get us or to make us miserable. He’s not. He takes delight in us, and He wants the very best for us. That doesn’t mean that He caters to our desires, or is our genie in a bottle to grant our wishes. It means He is a loving Father that sees the bigger picture, that gives us boundaries to protect us from harm, instructs us in the ways that we should go, so that we will have a good and abundant life in Him, that we can enjoy the richness and intimacy of a relationship with Him.
At times, we question that goodness, particularly when God allows pain and suffering to come into our lives, or when His will seems the opposite of our desires. But James tells us that God even uses the trials of this life to work for our good. “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (James 1: 4). Paul iterates the same point in Romans – “And we know that in all things (even the bad things) God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).
Even in the face of evil, God works for good. What others mean for harm, God uses for good (Genesis 50:20). Even when we can’t see it or don’t understand it, the truth remains, God is good and we can trust that His will for us is good. “His ways are higher than our ways” (Isaiah 55: 8-9). When we follow, He leads us to green pastures and still waters; He restores our souls (Psalm 23: 2-3).
The Garden of Eden, then, is a picture of God’s great goodness, the richness and pleasure of a Father pouring out His blessing on His children, unhindered by sin and with complete and wonderful fellowship with God. What an image of what it looks like to be in the center of God’s will! That, my friends, is where I want to be. Don’t you?
Note: This reflection was prompted by Dr Mike Toby's sermon series on Genesis at First Baptist Church Woodway. To download sermons, visit the church website: http://www.fbcwoodway.org/resources/sermons/.
Sometimes we think that God’s will is this scary place, somewhere to be dreaded and feared, somewhere horrible where God might call us to go, or that He wants something bad for us, that He is someone who wants to take away our freedom or that He is unreasonable and unjust. But that’s not the truth of scripture. Here, from the very beginning, God creates beauty and goodness for His children. He wanted them to enjoy the abundance of life and to have an incredibly intimate and beautiful relationship with Him.
The goodness of these plans is echoed in Jeremiah. Even while proclaiming the coming judgment and exile of the Israelites, even when bad days were coming, God reminds them that He is working for their ultimate good. “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11). And indeed Jesus comes (God Himself) and proclaims, “I have come that they may have life, and have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).
With those assurances that God cares and is working for my good and for our good, we don’t have to be afraid of His will. We don’t have to wonder if God is out to get us or to make us miserable. He’s not. He takes delight in us, and He wants the very best for us. That doesn’t mean that He caters to our desires, or is our genie in a bottle to grant our wishes. It means He is a loving Father that sees the bigger picture, that gives us boundaries to protect us from harm, instructs us in the ways that we should go, so that we will have a good and abundant life in Him, that we can enjoy the richness and intimacy of a relationship with Him.
At times, we question that goodness, particularly when God allows pain and suffering to come into our lives, or when His will seems the opposite of our desires. But James tells us that God even uses the trials of this life to work for our good. “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (James 1: 4). Paul iterates the same point in Romans – “And we know that in all things (even the bad things) God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).
Even in the face of evil, God works for good. What others mean for harm, God uses for good (Genesis 50:20). Even when we can’t see it or don’t understand it, the truth remains, God is good and we can trust that His will for us is good. “His ways are higher than our ways” (Isaiah 55: 8-9). When we follow, He leads us to green pastures and still waters; He restores our souls (Psalm 23: 2-3).
The Garden of Eden, then, is a picture of God’s great goodness, the richness and pleasure of a Father pouring out His blessing on His children, unhindered by sin and with complete and wonderful fellowship with God. What an image of what it looks like to be in the center of God’s will! That, my friends, is where I want to be. Don’t you?
Note: This reflection was prompted by Dr Mike Toby's sermon series on Genesis at First Baptist Church Woodway. To download sermons, visit the church website: http://www.fbcwoodway.org/resources/sermons/.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Facing the Famine
I started a new Bible study this week on Ruth. There was something appealing about taking a new look at the woman who left family, friends, and home behind to follow God, not really knowing what was ahead. Maybe it just sounded familiar to me, and I maybe I just craved the ending of the story where it turns out she is exactly where she is supposed to be. Maybe, just maybe I needed that reassurance myself, to be reminded that God provides and restores and that He has a good ending in store.
The story of week one & chapter one, though, starts not with Ruth but with Naomi and starts not with hope or redemption but with famine, with the land of God’s promise and provision being replaced with a dry & thirsty land. Of course, the Promised Land had never stopped being the land of promise. God was always there and always calling His people back to Himself. But they had turned their backs on Him. Seeing only the famine and not seeing God’s promises, Naomi and her husband and their two sons pack up and move. They leave town, leave the Promised Land in search of food.
God is Jehovah-Jirah, the God who provides, but He allows the famines to come. The physical famine in Egypt that brought Joseph’s brothers there (Genesis 41 & 42), the wilderness where the Israelites lived only off quail & manna (Exodus 16), the barrenness of Hannah who desperately wanted a child (1 Samuel 1), the tremendous loss in Job’s life (Job 1 & 2), the widow’s last bit of flour and oil (1 Kings 17) – scripture is full of famines, physical, emotional, and spiritual. The famines come, times when we feel that God is distant and far away, times when we question if He has forgotten us or forsaken us, times when we don’t know what is next, when it looks and feels like the barrel is running dry.
It’s a scary place to be. I would like to be like Job who responded so gracefully, “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21). Instead, my tendency is like Naomi and her husband’s response – let me go looking for some food, let me go searching for where God is and let me go make things happen. I like to make things happen. I am not one to whine about my circumstances. I like to fix things, to fix people, to step in and change things. It goes against my nature during a famine to “Be still and know that [He is] God” (Psalm 46:10).
For Naomi, things just got worse. Now, she is in a distant land, her husband dies, and then later her two sons die – a famine of an entirely different kind. Now, she is alone and bitter.
I’ve been in a famine. I need to admit that, really even before I moved to Texas. It sounds crazy to say that because my life has been incredibly blessed. It’s been rough, though, barren in some ways. In some ways, Texas was relief from some of that famine – relief from financial struggles and work issues. But in some ways, it led to a different kind of famine – isolation from family and friends, a lack of purpose and ministry. I left behind so much that was good in my life, people that I care about, a church and a community that felt like home. And sometimes, every once in awhile, I feel a little like Naomi – alone in a distant land and bordering on bitterness. It’s not a good place to be.
But… and I love BUTs here. But, Naomi remembers God, remembers His promises and His provision. God didn’t change. He hadn’t gone anywhere, but Naomi had gotten sidetracked by life, by the famine, by her circumstances. Then, though, she hears about God’s provision in Judah. She hears from folks at home that the famine is over, that God is providing, that there is food to eat. And immediately, she wants to be there. She wants to be back in the Promised Land and she immediately makes preparations for the journey. She remembers. She remembers (I’m imagining here) what it was like to experience God’s blessings and to live in the land flowing with milk and honey. She remembers what it felt like to be home, and she started craving it.
I fully believe one reason that God allows famines in our lives is to lead us to the place where we crave Him, where we crave His presence and His provision in our lives. Sometimes we can fill our lives with so much junk and so many distractions, and He wants us to fill our lives with Him, with His spirit, with His love. That’s what I am craving. I want more of Him and less of me. I want to be in the land of His promise and provision. I want to sense His presence and to know that I am where He has called me to be. He is the Living Water (John 4), and the One who provides a well in the desert (Genesis 21), a well that will never run dry.
The famines come, but I am so glad they are not the end of the story. In fact, the famine is only the beginning. And although Naomi returns home bitter and barren, God isn’t done with her. She is where God wants her to be and He is about to do an amazing work in her life.
Hmmm… I knew I would enjoy the story of Ruth and this Bible study. It’s definitely a message I needed to hear and needed to share. Stay tuned for more, or read ahead yourself, Ruth 1-4.
The story of week one & chapter one, though, starts not with Ruth but with Naomi and starts not with hope or redemption but with famine, with the land of God’s promise and provision being replaced with a dry & thirsty land. Of course, the Promised Land had never stopped being the land of promise. God was always there and always calling His people back to Himself. But they had turned their backs on Him. Seeing only the famine and not seeing God’s promises, Naomi and her husband and their two sons pack up and move. They leave town, leave the Promised Land in search of food.
God is Jehovah-Jirah, the God who provides, but He allows the famines to come. The physical famine in Egypt that brought Joseph’s brothers there (Genesis 41 & 42), the wilderness where the Israelites lived only off quail & manna (Exodus 16), the barrenness of Hannah who desperately wanted a child (1 Samuel 1), the tremendous loss in Job’s life (Job 1 & 2), the widow’s last bit of flour and oil (1 Kings 17) – scripture is full of famines, physical, emotional, and spiritual. The famines come, times when we feel that God is distant and far away, times when we question if He has forgotten us or forsaken us, times when we don’t know what is next, when it looks and feels like the barrel is running dry.
It’s a scary place to be. I would like to be like Job who responded so gracefully, “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21). Instead, my tendency is like Naomi and her husband’s response – let me go looking for some food, let me go searching for where God is and let me go make things happen. I like to make things happen. I am not one to whine about my circumstances. I like to fix things, to fix people, to step in and change things. It goes against my nature during a famine to “Be still and know that [He is] God” (Psalm 46:10).
For Naomi, things just got worse. Now, she is in a distant land, her husband dies, and then later her two sons die – a famine of an entirely different kind. Now, she is alone and bitter.
I’ve been in a famine. I need to admit that, really even before I moved to Texas. It sounds crazy to say that because my life has been incredibly blessed. It’s been rough, though, barren in some ways. In some ways, Texas was relief from some of that famine – relief from financial struggles and work issues. But in some ways, it led to a different kind of famine – isolation from family and friends, a lack of purpose and ministry. I left behind so much that was good in my life, people that I care about, a church and a community that felt like home. And sometimes, every once in awhile, I feel a little like Naomi – alone in a distant land and bordering on bitterness. It’s not a good place to be.
But… and I love BUTs here. But, Naomi remembers God, remembers His promises and His provision. God didn’t change. He hadn’t gone anywhere, but Naomi had gotten sidetracked by life, by the famine, by her circumstances. Then, though, she hears about God’s provision in Judah. She hears from folks at home that the famine is over, that God is providing, that there is food to eat. And immediately, she wants to be there. She wants to be back in the Promised Land and she immediately makes preparations for the journey. She remembers. She remembers (I’m imagining here) what it was like to experience God’s blessings and to live in the land flowing with milk and honey. She remembers what it felt like to be home, and she started craving it.
I fully believe one reason that God allows famines in our lives is to lead us to the place where we crave Him, where we crave His presence and His provision in our lives. Sometimes we can fill our lives with so much junk and so many distractions, and He wants us to fill our lives with Him, with His spirit, with His love. That’s what I am craving. I want more of Him and less of me. I want to be in the land of His promise and provision. I want to sense His presence and to know that I am where He has called me to be. He is the Living Water (John 4), and the One who provides a well in the desert (Genesis 21), a well that will never run dry.
The famines come, but I am so glad they are not the end of the story. In fact, the famine is only the beginning. And although Naomi returns home bitter and barren, God isn’t done with her. She is where God wants her to be and He is about to do an amazing work in her life.
Hmmm… I knew I would enjoy the story of Ruth and this Bible study. It’s definitely a message I needed to hear and needed to share. Stay tuned for more, or read ahead yourself, Ruth 1-4.
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