Naomi

 

 

Somewhere in time, this week, I have been reading the book of Ruth.  I set out to read Ruth because she was noted for her faithfulness, but instead I found myself really understanding Naomi.  Naomi and her family left Bethlehem during a time of drought and famine looking for place where things were better.  I think this is a natural inclination of all of us.  If it’s difficult here, maybe we should move there and it will be better. 

The move seemed to be a good one. They were prospering in their new location.  Her sons grew and took wives. The household was full with happy laughter of a family that loves each other. Then something happens.  It doesn’t say what, but we know that her husband dies and then her sons.  She is left alone with her two daughters-in-law.  At this point, she decides to return home.

She must have been a nice woman, because both of her daughters-in-law decide to return to Bethlehem with her. As they start out, Naomi realizes she doesn’t want the girls to leave their home, so she tells them to go home back to their own families.  She has nothing to offer them. They both initially refuse, but one goes and Ruth stays.  The two travel back to Bethlehem.  Once there, her former friends and neighbors come out to meet her, but she declares to them:

Ruth 1:20 “But she said to them, “Do not call me Naomi, call me Mara, for the Almighty as dealt bitterly with me.”

This is a feeling we can all relate to.  There are times when we wonder why God allows things to happen.  It’s a hard time to travel through. It’s hard when your heart is broken over the pain and trials of this earth. Naomi felt abandoned.  Her husband and sons were dead and it felt like God had turned his back.

I don’t believe that God afflicts us. I do believe that life afflicts us.   God never turns his back. We sometimes turn away from him and think he moved. We sometimes get so focused on looking down at our misfortune; we don’t look up to where God is.  God knew her husband and sons would die and he prepared a way for this woman to get her hope back.  He prepared a way for her story to last through generations.  He hadn’t forgotten her. He was working things out for her.

Ruth, of course, didn’t leave Naomi. She traveled back to Bethlehem.  Naomi entered Bethlehem calling herself Mara, which means bitter.   Ruth showed her honor and before long, every ones opinion of Naomi changed.  No longer was she the poor little widow with no one to care for her.

Ruth 4:14 “Then the woman said to Naomi. “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a close relative; and may his name be famous in Israel!”

Naomi’s relative Boaz, married Ruth and together they were a family to Naomi. They are the great grandparents of King David and in the lineage of Jesus Christ.

Naomi went from bitter to blessed.  I want to encourage anyone in the time of bitterness, to not lose hope.  God has a plan and nothing we experience is wasted. It helps mold us into who God needs us to be.

Jason Gray - Nothing Is Wasted (Official Lyric Video) from jason-gray on GodTube.

Name Calling

 

 

Somewhere in time, this week, I have been writing a short story about some events in my childhood.  When I was a child, I was called shy because I was quiet.  I was called short, but that was a statement of fact.  My older brother, on the other hand, loved to tease me and he called me “ski slope nose”, for the way my nose turns up on the end.

Does what people call us define us?

There were a couple of taunts we would chant back when someone called us a name.  “I am rubber, you are glue.  Everything bounces off me and sticks to you” or “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me.”

The taunts never worked.  Words hurt.

Words like, stupid, mean, ugly, worthless – hurt, regardless of the teasing tone used when spoken.

If we really think about it, God says we are his children. 

I John 3:1 “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.”

If God acknowledges us as his children, we are accepted, imperfections and all, by the creator of the universe.  What can mere mortal say to hurt us?

Perhaps the world has labeled us because they don’t know us.  They don’t know our heavenly father, so they can’t understand us.

Of course, not all labels people place on us are cruel.  It’s nice to be called, smart, nice looking, sweet, compassionate and generous. 

At this point, in my life, I have learned a few things.  When I am shopping and the clerk tells me how nice I look in a product, it feels nice, but I know this is a sure sign the clerk is hoping to make commission on a sale.

 

Matthew West - Hello, My Name Is (Lyrics) from matthew-west on GodTube.

God I need you now

 

 

Somewhere in time, this week and several weeks and months before now, I have been praying for my sister and her family.  Her husband has been battling cancer for months. There days of hope and days of despair. This week she put on facebook that “now is the hardest time, now it’s the time to let go” my heart broke for her. 

My sister lives on the other side of the country. I can’t just get in my car and run over to see her.  I have to sit here, pray, and continue to go to work every day trusting God to comfort my sister and her family.

Sometimes I find myself just crying out to God.  God I need you now.  In this situation, I know my family needs God now. They need to feel His presence and wallow in His comfort. 

God knew hard times would come.  He knew people we loved would get sick and sometimes die before us.  He knew all of that.

John 16:33 “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace.  In the world you will have tribulation: but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

It might be human nature to only think it’s a miracle when we see it happen. I think sometimes our miracles don’t happen in this life, but the next.  The thing to remember is if we get our miracle and healing happens, we need to thank God.  Even if we don’t see our miracle, we can still trust that God loves us and cares about us.  He is who we cling to in hard times. He is really all we need to cling to,  since He is the only one that can carry our burdens for us. 

 

Plumb - NEED YOU NOW (How Many Times) [Official Live Performance] from plumb on GodTube.

Fear Not

 

 

Somewhere in time, last week, a job I had applied for was offered to me.  I am very excited about the change. This is a new opportunity. It offers me the chance to mentor and train, two things I love to do.  This position also requires that a person has a lot of knowledge.  I have a lot, but I don’t know everything.  I started to get worried.  What if everyone I was trying to help needed to do or know something I didn’t know how to do?  I can research and find an answer, but if I did that every time, I wouldn’t have time to help anyone. On and on it goes.

What I was experiencing was fear in the form of new job jitters.

We all experience fear for one reason or the other, but many times our fears are tied to what if and maybe scenarios.  Why do we fear things that may or may not happen? 

In the King James version of the Bible is says fear not 74 times and be not afraid 29 times.

I was afraid and fearful, why?  There is no need.  I have been doing this job for 17 years, so this position is a natural transition for me and a perfect choice.  It was then that it occurred to me.  I had no reason to worry.

Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

It was amazing how quickly my fearful meanderings left once I realized where my strength came from. 

Chris Tomlin - Whom Shall I Fear [God of Angel Armies] (Live Performance from Passion) from chris-tomlin on GodTube.