Victim or Student

The idea of “be a student not a victim” when you encounter hard times or trials is certainly not a new concept. You will find this phrase written and preached in many places. I think that is because it is a very relatable concept because we are all going to face hard times, loss, and hurt. How we deal with those things will in large measure define us. That is true for us today, and it was true for people that lived the lives we find recounted in the Bible. Naomi and Ruth were two such people.

We don’t control what happens in our lives. We may think we are in control, but that is an illusion. Naomi learned this lesson in her life, and we can now learn from her through the Book of Ruth. She was a Jewish woman married to a man named Elimelech. She had two sons that would have been her pride joy. A Jewish woman with a son was like a kid in a candy store. It was everything she could want, but when a famine hit, her husband decided to temporarily move the family from Israel to a place called Moab. Moab wasn’t a place the Lord wanted Jewish people living because of the pagan religion and things the Moabites had done to the Israelites in the past, but off the family went anyway. During their time there the two boys married, Elimelech died, and then her two sons died. She was left a widow in a foreign land with no means to support herself. She was devastated. We all would be, but how we respond to loss, hard times, and trials is important.

Ruth 1:1-5 tells us the beginning of Naomi’s journey, “In the days when the judges ruled in Israel, a severe famine came upon the land. So a man from Bethlehem in Judah left his home and went to live in the country of Moab, taking his wife and two sons with him. 2 The man’s name was Elimelech, and his wife was Naomi. Their two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in the land of Judah. And when they reached Moab, they settled there. 3 Then Elimelech died, and Naomi was left with her two sons. 4 The two sons married Moabite women. One married a woman named Orpah, and the other a woman named Ruth. But about ten years later, 5 both Mahlon and Kilion died. This left Naomi alone, without her two sons or her husband.”

We have the luxury in the Book of Ruth of being able to see the whole picture. Naomi didn’t have that luxury. She was living it in the moment, and she had no idea what would happen next. She had a legitimate fear that she could starve to death. She was just like us when we lose someone we love, get the call from the doctor we have been dreading, the business closes, the marriage melts down, or the boss gives us the pink slip.

I think you can write hopeless next to Ruth 1:1-5. Naomi is stuck in Moab, a widow with no hope. She has two young widows with her, and they aren’t even Israelites. She’s too old to remarry and have more children. In Naomi’s mind, she has no hope or future. It’s a desperate situation. What gives me hope is that she wasn’t the one to determine the end of her story. That is God’s job. She was so hopeless that in Ruth 1:13 she says, “the Lord himself has raised his fist against me.” The truth is I understand how she feels. The dark valleys of life can make us feel like not only has God left us, but he is actually against us. The Word of God tells us that isn’t true. That may be where you are today or where you will be in the near future, and when you are in that valley remember that God hasn’t left you. The story of Naomi and Ruth teaches us that.

Here’s where we leave Naomi. She still believes in God, but she’s in a foreign land. She is bitter and believes God has turned on her. She is brokenhearted, but wouldn’t we all be? Where is God in the middle of all of this? He’s right there and He sees the whole picture for all of our lives. Naomi is trapped in the moment, but God is outside the moment. She can’t imagine it, but by the end of the Book of Ruth she will be sitting with a smile on her face holding another baby boy, and he will be the grandfather of King David. Her grief will turn joy. God will use her dark valley as a part of the road that will lead to Jesus Himself. The moment may be dark for you right now or it may turn dark tomorrow, but God is full of grace and mercy. He has a plan for you and He loves you.

You can find the sermon this blog is based on at the following Youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7JI4C7KIr0