More to the Story - Chapter 9 - Ruth


WHEN DREAMS ARE SHATTERED
 
"Ruth insisted to her mother-in-law, Naomi, '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.  Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.' " Ruth 1:16-17

"Don't call me Naomi," she told them. "Call me Mara, 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 1:20-12

REFLECTION

During a famine during the reign of Gideon Naomi and her husband left Israel and settled in Moab, enemy territory. There they had two sons who married and life was good. However, Naomi’s husband and two sons died and she returned to Israel with one of her daughters-in-law, Ruth.

Notice in the passages above how each handles their pain.

This, however, is only the beginning of their story. As you will discover, the harvest is beginning when life is at its lowest.

How would you describe your reactions when you were in the midst of a shattered dream?

Prayer

“Lord, Jesus told us clearly that ‘the rain falls on the just and the unjust and the sun shines on the evil and the good.’ Help me to be incredibly grateful for the good moments you give and to be persistently hopeful in the bad. In the name of Jesus, our Redeemer.  Amen”


You can follow Pastor Jeff on Twitter @jefflampl