Good
Morning All,
Ruth 4:15; “He shall be to you a restorer of life
and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is
more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.”
The story told in the Book of Ruth is an
incredibly unique story. It starts with
a man, his wife and their two sons moving to a new country. While they are there, the husband dies. Yet the two sons each got married so life
went on. But then it gets tragic; both
sons die. So, it is the woman, her name
is Naomi, is left in a strange land with her widowed daughters-in-law. This is not a real good way to be. Women had very few ways to earn a
living. They were wives and mothers, or
they were beggars or prostitutes. Occasionally
they might be heralded as a prophetess or a priestess, but this was exceedingly
rare. Most women faced a brutal life
outside of a marriage, especially in a foreign land.
So, Naomi decided to pack up and go home
to Bethlehem but even that was not a great option. She had been gone so long she wasn’t even
sure she had any relatives who might consider taking her in. So, she tried to get her two daughters-in-law
to go back to their family as she had nothing to offer them. One went back but one, named Ruth, went back
with her. Yet as she travelled; she was
despondent and sad; what fate faced them when they returned? Naomi was so sure that nothing good awaited
them that she told anyone who asked to call her “Mara” because her life was
bitter. Yet God acted. A redeemer, a man named Boaz took her back
and then he married Ruth. This provided
for Naomi and she no longer had a life of pain and struggle ahead of her. She had, as our verse says, “a restorer of
life and a nourisher in your old age.”
Have you ever experienced a time in your
life that seemed beyond hope? Maybe you
feel that way right now. It may seem
like there is nothing left for you; it may seem that all things of value are
gone. The people you loved, the job you
adored, the health that you enjoyed are now all seemingly long gone. The thing we must do is to hang on. We need to hang on to our faith and to trust
in God’s mercy. Even in our darkest hour
God has sent us a redeemer to buy us back and to rescue us from our sorrow.
Jesus came for that reason; to rescue us
from all our sorrow and our despair. God
can be and should be trusted to reach down and to lift you out of the pit of
despair and from the deep waters of hopelessness. He knows your pain and knows
your sorrow. He is able to lift your
burdens and to carry your heart. He will
restore you; he will nourish you and he will provide for you and all your
needs.
Father, you are our only
source of hope. In you do we find our
redemption through Jesus. Lift us from
the well of sorrows. Pull us from the
deep waters of despair and lift our hearts and our spirits that we may know
your joy. In Jesus precious name we
pray, amen.
God’s
Peace,
Pastor
Bret
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