Mother’s Day: Journey of Faith – Life is a Journey, part 8
Did you know that your journey of faith could help change the world? Like Naomi in this week’s message, your choices could have a lasting impact on generations to come. Nothing is impossible with God.
Through this series, you’ll learn how to live well & enjoy God's promises. You are loved by God; He knows your name. He has a plan for your life. Get helpful advice, encouragement, and hope for a life well lived in 2021 and beyond.
Are you walking in faith and victory? Set your eyes on the promises of God. You only have one life journey; say yes to Jesus. Like the parables of the buried treasure and the valuable pearl, stop at nothing to gain your entry into the kingdom of heaven.
Nothing is impossible with God.
Happy Mother’s Day! We are continuing our series “Life is a Journey” as we look at Naomi, a mother who journeyed through the experience of great loss, followed by great blessing.
In-laws and Death and famine, oh my!
The book of Ruth is only four chapters and much of it is focused on Ruth (one of Naomi’s daughters-in-law), yet I want us to focus on Naomi.
In the book of Ruth, we are brought into the story of Elimelech, his wife Naomi, and their two sons. They were struggling to survive a famine in Bethlehem (in the region of Judah) during a very dark and difficult time. God allowed the famine, maybe to get the attention of the people of God. It caused pain, so that the people would once again seek God and cry out to God for help. But some people attempted to take things into their own hands rather than call out to God, not unlike people in every generation, even today.
Not everyone remained in Judah during the famine. Elimelech decided to leave Bethlehem and travel to a nearby region, Moab, to avoid the famine and poverty in Judah. No matter the reason, rather than turning to God, Elimelech decided to go to a country that was far from God and offered human sacrifices to their gods. The Moabites were enemies of Israel, but because there was no famine in Moab, and thinking they would stay only for a short time, Elimelech must have thought it was OK.
So Elimelech took Naomi and two sons to Moab. But then Elimelech died. Friends, all too often bad decisions lead to more bad decisions. When Elimelech died, the older son became the leader of the family. The sons must have decided it was better to remain in Moab, an ungodly nation, rather than go back to Judah. So, they tried to make the best of it and the sons married two Moabite women. However after ten years, the sons died.
At that point, Naomi was alone, living in a foreign land, with two widowed daughters-in-law, and without a provider. Having no connections or help in Moab, Naomi decided to return to Judah, where she heard that the Lord had come to the aid of his people and the famine was over.
Naomi and her two daughters-in-law started the journey back to Bethlehem. The custom of the time was that the two daughters-in-law were a part of Naomi’s family and would stay with her. But Naomi encouraged them to return to their mothers’ homes and marry again. Naomi was being realistic; they had no future to stay with Naomi. She was much older and had no husband and no sons for them to marry. Naomi may have felt that she had no future for herself as well.
‘But Naomi said, “Return home, my daughters. Why would you come with me? Am I going to have any more sons, who could become your husbands? 12 Return home, my daughters; I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me—even if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth to sons— 13 would you wait until they grew up? Would you remain unmarried for them? No, my daughters. It is more bitter for me than for you, because the Lord’s hand has turned against me!”’ (Ruth 1:11-13, NIV).
One of Naomi’s daughters-in-law decided to return home to her parents, but Ruth stayed with Naomi.
‘But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. 17 Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.” 18 When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.
19 So the two women went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them, and the women exclaimed, “Can this be Naomi?”
20 “Don’t call me Naomi,” she told them. “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. 21 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 1:16-21).
Naomi’s Life Teaches us Five Wise Guidelines
There are five wise guidelines we can learn from Naomi’s situation and life:
Don’t follow a bad decision with another bad decision.
Don’t avoid pain, rather embrace it. Find out the true reason that pain, the “warning light”, is there and address it quickly.
Don’t keep going in the wrong direction. Get back on the road and headed in the correct direction of life’s journey.
Acknowledge God, do not blame God!
Allow hope to arise, then wait and seek the blessing of God. Know that you will be blessed when you are on life’s journey, the road back to God.
1. Don’t follow a bad decision with another bad decision.
Elimelech chose to avoid the pain of famine and decided to go and live in Moab. He decided to take the road away from trusting God, and instead live among immoral and ungodly people but only with the idea that it was for a brief time. He choose to do what seemed right to him rather than seek God’s direction.
Often, bad decisions strip a person of what is best for them. Bad decisions do not take into account the future consequences or the pain and suffering that comes with bad decisions, such as turning away from God. Often, one bad decision follows another bad decision until there is a spiritual awakening and a return to seeking the plan of God.
The pain and suffering that Elimelech attempted to avoid by moving to Moab was not avoided. It might very well have increased because of his awful decision to move to Moab for a while. The drug addict or alcoholic does not start out wanting to be an addict or destroy their family or lifestyle. Instead, they often only want to ease the pain they are feeling at the time. But it quickly becomes a slippery slope. It’s not long before the person is headed down the road of addiction, because of that one bad decision that their life journey is turned from bad to worse.
Do not let spiritual blindness or short sightedness cause you to make bad decisions. Choose to seek the Lord first before you make a bad decision and do not follow a bad decision with another bad decision.
One thought before we move on. Remember, God can use our bad decisions for his good. Ruth’s salvation occurs because of Elimelech’s decision to live in Moab for a time, but it was a costly decision. The outcome is not a good excuse or reason to make a bad decision.
2. Don’t avoid pain.
Do not try to avoid the pain, rather find out the cause of the pain and seek to correct it. Choose to face the pain and suffering with true faith and hope in God. Let whatever pain or suffering you are experiencing drive you to your knees and seek the Lord.
Seek the Lord and seek wise counsel, and then act accordingly.
Pain is often a warning sign of something wrong, embrace it. Consider it like an indicator or warning light in your car. When the engine light comes on, that usually means you better get your car looked at soon. When you are trying to avoid pain or suffering in life, or you might not have peace regarding some decision, cry out to the Lord in prayer. Stop trying to fix the situation in your own strength—seek God’s will and his plan.
Avoiding the truth won’t make things better.
Don’t fool yourself into thinking a little wrong is OK.
Running away from the pain doesn’t fix the problem, just like moving to Moab for a little while to avoid the famine may have avoided one problem, but it created many more. One man’s decision affected more than himself. It affected his entire family.
3. Don’t keep going in the wrong direction.
Get back on the right road in life’s journey. Naomi had a decision to make: to stay in Moab alone or return home, to Bethlehem in Judah; to stay on the wrong path in life or turn around and get back on the road to following God.
I believe both the proverbial road to Moab and the road back to Bethlehem can be dangerous at times; however, the road to “Moab” will take everything from you and leave you spiritually dead, while the road back to God will result in spiritual healing, blessing, peace, and eternal life.
Naomi and Ruth chose the road back to Bethlehem and God. The road back to Bethlehem was not easy. It took over seven days to travel. It had its own pain and suffering along the way.
Remember, when you choose to get back to the right path with God, God is with you and you will experience his blessing and mercy once you arrive back home.
The road back to God was humbling for Naomi. She knew life was going to be tuff going back to Bethlehem, but she also knew that it was better to be alone with God than be alone without God living in Moab. Naomi heard in Moab that the Lord came to the aid of the people of God in Judah.
People today need to hear of the hope in Christ. They need to witness the power of God. People need to know and experience the love and mercy of God. They need to be encouraged to get off the road that leads away from God and to destruction and instead, turn to Jesus.
Maybe you know someone who has been living in a place like Moab and away from God. Share what God has done in your life and of the hope and peace that is waiting for them in Christ. The journey back to Jesus is worth it 1000%.
4. Acknowledge God.
Did you notice that Naomi acknowledged God, but she did not blame God for her misfortune. In fact, I believe Naomi’s misfortune in Moab is what made it possible for her to see the need to return to Bethlehem and the blessings of God.
Let’s not get comfortable with living in “Moab”.
Let’s not blame God for our misfortune or bad decisions.
Any pain, suffering, or misfortune we experience has its purpose.
Allow whatever you are going through to get you focused on God, and seek the Lord with all your heart. Allow it to do its work and do not blame God.
You might remember the story of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32). He was fine living in a land far from God until he ran out of money and he was having to work feeding pigs, with no food of his own. He recalled how his father cared for his workers, and he decided to return to his father, not as a son, but as a hired worker. It took the pain and suffering the son experienced to get his attention before he started back on the road home, to his father. The journey back to his father may have been emotionally painful but it resulted in blessing and rejoicing.
The pain and suffering of the famine in Judah would get the people to turn back to God; but Elimelech tried to avoid the pain. He wanted to live as he wanted, and in his attempt to keep all he had gained in life, he died emptyhanded in a foreign land and without God. His family lost everything, and when everything was taken away, Naomi sought to return to God even in her pain and affliction. Naomi realized God allowed it, but she did not blame him for it.
What about you? Are you experiencing a misfortune? Do you know someone who is?
Seek the Lord and allow the pain or suffering to awaken you to begin seeking the Lord. Life is a journey, do not end it in Moab, and instead get on the road back to Bethlehem.
5. Allow hope to arise.
Allow hope to arise, then wait and seek the blessing of God.
Naomi’s return to Bethlehem must have been very humbling for her at first. She and her family traveled to Moab with their possessions to escape the famine but years later she returned a widow, childless and without any means of support. And to top it all off, she had a Moabite daughter-in-law. Naomi returned feeling bitter and afflicted, both physically and emotionally. Possibly, the only hope Naomi may have had was that she heard back in Moab that the famine had ended in Bethlehem, and the Lord had visited the people.
The people of Judah were being blessed. So, rather than remain in Moab and live among a people who offered human sacrifices in worship to an idol god, Naomi decided to return to Judah to be among her own people and God. This is where Naomi’s painful journey was turned around to make way for God’s blessing.
God appeared to have directed Ruth to glean from a field that happened to be Boaz’s field, a close relative of Elimelech. Naomi understood that this was not by accident, but that God was beginning to bless them. Boaz showed both Ruth and Naomi kindness, and Naomi’s hope increased all the more.
Naomi’s hope began to rise again realizing that, through Boaz, God had not forgotten both the living and the dead. Naomi instructed Ruth in their Israelite customs, and Ruth followed Naomi’s instructions. Ruth went to Boaz and he sought to marry Ruth. Both Ruth and Naomi were cared for and blessed. Ruth and Boaz had a child, who is recorded to be in the lineage of Jesus. The savior, the son of God, comes from the lineage of a former Gentile Moabite woman who placed her faith and heart in God almighty. This is clear proof that Ruth turned her back on her past lifestyle and embraced God almighty with all her heart. Her actions and obedience demonstrated her heart for God and the people of God.
Your journey of faith could help change the world, one person at a time.
God was able to work through a bad decision of a family to accomplish his good. Friends, nothing is impossible with God. God used Naomi to reach and save a Moabite woman. Naomi’s witness and decision to return to Bethlehem was her journey of faith.
I want to close this Mother’s Day message with a beautiful truth: you have an opportunity to be a powerful witness of God’s love to your family, relatives, friends, and acquaintances.
Even the hardest of sinners can be saved.
The furthest from God can be saved.
Ruth was from an idol-worshiping, human-sacrificing nation yet she placed her faith in God.
You have an opportunity to speak hope into what may appear to be a hopeless situation.
Even in a period of pain and suffering, God can and will use you to touch a life as you look to God. You will make a difference in a person’s life as you continue to:
Seek God.
Be a Godly example and seek the blessings of God.
Do not follow a bad decision with another bad decision.
Like Naomi, you may experience bad situations, pain, and suffering. But choose to remain faithful. Never give in to what seems to be a hopeless situation. Life is a journey. Life in Christ is the truest blessing with eternal rewards. Be a blessing to others, like Naomi, and watch God work in their lives.
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Ruth 1:11-13, 16-21: Did you know that your journey of faith could help change the world? Like Naomi in this week’s message, your choices could have a lasting impact on generations to come. Nothing is impossible with God.