GOD’S GRACE IN OUR GRIEF
Text: Ruth 1:19-22
Introduction
1. Illustration: Franklin D. Roosevelt said: “We have always held to the hope, the belief, the conviction that there is a better life, a better world just beyond the horizon.”
2. It’s difficult to see hope in the middle of grief, but God’s grace always supplies us with hope even in the darkest night.
3. Naomi returned home in despair, but there was hope on the horizon because of God’s grace.
4. Read Ruth 1:19-22
Transition: Let’s take a look at Naomi’s return to Bethlehem.
I. Call Me Mara
A. As we talked about last week, Naomi encouraged her daughters in law to go home to their families. The one daughter in law, Orpah, does go home, but the other one Ruth, refuses to go and says wherever Naomi goes she will go, and Naomi’s God would be her God.
B. Now, we see the journey continue. It says in v. 19, “So the two of them continued on their journey. When they came to Bethlehem, the entire town was excited by their arrival. “Is it really Naomi?” the women asked.”
1. The two women go to Naomi’s country and come to her hometown of Bethlehem.
2. When they get there, the entire town is excited by their arrival.
3. But when they see Naomi, they ask, “Is this Naomi?” Now we can look at this in one of two ways.
a. First, it can be one of excitement, “Is this Naomi?”
b. Or you can look at it as in bewilderment, “Is this Naomi?”
c. This second understanding is how we should view this statement. As we talked about earlier, the name Naomi means “pleasant, beautiful, and good.”
d. When she left Bethlehem before she was beautiful and vibrant, but she is coming back old, defeated, and devastated.
C. We can see this in the way Naomi answers their question. In vv. 20-21, it says, “Don’t call me Naomi,” she responded. “Instead, call me Mara, for the Almighty has made life very bitter for me. 21 I went away full, but the LORD has brought me home empty. Why call me Naomi when the LORD has caused me to suffer and the Almighty has sent such tragedy upon me?”
1. Naomi insists that they call her by a different name. She asks them to call her Mara.
2. Unlike the name Naomi, the name Mara means “bitter.” The reason she says this is that the Lord has made her life bitter.
3. As we’ve talked about earlier, she left years earlier with her husband and two sons. However, while they were in Moab, her husband died, and then ten years later, both of her sons died too!
4. She had left home full of blessings and hope, but she returns with empty hands and a broken heart.
5. Furthermore, in her mind, this was all God’s doing. First, she says, “the Almighty has made my life bitter,” and then she says, “the Lord has made me suffer,” and finally, “the Almighty has sent such tragedy upon me.”
6. According to her, God is punishing her by making her life unbearably painful. Like Job she wants to know, “God why are you doing this to me?”
D. But the writer tells us something that Naomi is overlooking. In v. 22 it says, “So Naomi returned from Moab, accompanied by her daughter-in-law Ruth, the young Moabite woman. They arrived in Bethlehem in late spring, at the beginning of the barley harvest.”
1. Naomi had said that she came back empty, but the writer tells us something Naomi had missed - she came back with Ruth!
2. Naomi doesn’t even acknowledge Ruth, but the writer makes her the center of his sentence.
3. This tells us that Naomi came back with way more than she realizes. Naomi thinks she’s returning empty, but in reality she’s coming back with hope, and as we will see, she is not just Naomi’s hope, but she’s also our hope.
4. The writer then adds to this hope by saying that it’s the beginning of the barley harvest. So, they didn’t have to come back and wait three months for the harvest but rather came back just in time to gather the harvest.
5. There would not only be food, but there would also be hope!
Transition: Now let’s see how we can…
II. Find Grace in Difficult Times
A. First, we need to realize that Jesus understands our pain.
1. “So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. 15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. 16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” (Heb. 4:14-16).
2. The devil wants us to believe that we are the only one that’s going through something, we’re the only one that struggles with it, and we are all alone. It’s like separating the runt from the heard.
3. But Jesus wants us to know that we are not alone. He wants us to know that He is there with us and has experienced what we are experiencing.
4. Not only is Jesus with us, but we have a family of Christian brothers and sisters that are there for us to help us through our difficulty.
5. We are not separated from the heard, we are in the middle of it!
B. We also have the Scriptures to give us hope.
1. “Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled.” (Rom. 15:4).
2. We not only have Jesus, we not only have the support of our brothers and sisters, but we have the encouragement and hope we have in the Bible.
3. Paul, here, tells us that the Bible not only teaches us, but it also gives us hope! In fact, he says that is the reason God gave us the Bible.
4. So, first of all, we need to read the Bible every day. It should be a regular part of our life, because if it is, then we will have that knowledge when we need it.
5. In addition, when we have problems, we need to look in the Bible and ask God to speak to us. Too many Christians complain that God has abandoned them, but at the same time their Bible is covered with dust.
6. And saying that you have trouble reading is a poor excuse. There are apps and websites that not only give you the Bible to read, but they’ll even read it to you!
7. Open your Bible and let it speak to your problems.
C. When you are going through difficulties in your life, never forget that God’s grace is all you need!
1. “Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. 9 Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. 10 That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Cor. 12:8-10).
2. Sometimes in the middle of our struggles, we get so lost in our own self-pity, that we forget about the grace of God.
3. We act like Naomi; we’re so focused on our sorrow that we can’t see what’s right in front of us. We forget about Ruth and the harvest!
4. Grace is an underserved gift from God, and that free gift is all you need!
5. There is no trouble in your life that surprises God. He knows it’s there and His grace is enough to get you through it.
6. So, stop focusing on the trouble and start focusing on God’s grace!
Conclusion
What’s the point preacher? You may feel like everything is over, but God is just getting started and His grace is bringing you a harvest of hope.
