Don’t you love a good comeback? Don’t you love it when the underdog wins? It does our hearts good to see someone get back up after they’ve been knocked down by the tragedies of life. That’s the story of the book of Ruth.
The story begins with Ruth as a young woman. Her life seems to hold a bright future. She marries a husband with strong family ties. They begin building a life together. But in a few short years her family is demolished by death. Ruth’s husband, father-in-law, and brother-in-law all three die. Ruth and two women she has no blood relation with have to start over.
I don’t think it does the Bible any injustice to read between the lines. We who have been through suffering and the death of those close to us know how Ruth felt.
Psychologists have noticed five stages grieving people go through: denial and isolation; anger; bargaining; depression; and acceptance. We don’t know where Ruth was in this process when her mother-in-law announced she was returning to Bethlehem in Judah. But I imagine she hadn’t had enough time yet to feel like starting over.
You remember right away when you read this story the significance of Naomi’s home town. Bethlehem was the small town where the Savior, Jesus Himself, would be born! So right away your spiritual attenae go up.
This story then is not just about the redemption of one Moabite woman named Ruth. IT IS THE STORY OF THE REDEMPTION OF US ALL! Look deeper into this story and you see yourself!
The story of Ruth contains at least three powerful principles for STARTING OVER WHEN YOU DON’T FEEL LIKE IT:
1. FIND SOMEONE ELSE WHO IS HURTING AND BE A FRIEND TO HIM OR HER.
I know the Bible repeats this truth often but it is necessary because we are constantly being bombarded with the message of the world: "look out only for #1". The problem with that philosophy is that it never provides spiritual fulfillment. How ironic; what your heart desires won’t come from looking only after yourself; it comes from looking after the needs of others. We must love our neighbor as ourself. (Mt. 22:39) Now where do we get this in the story of Ruth?
Somewhere underneath the surface of this story there’s a motivation for Ruth staying with her mother-in-law and I think this may be the first clue. Surely her mother-in-law must have treated her like she was her own daughter. There must have been quite a bond of love between them for Ruth to go back with Naomi to a land she didn’t know anything about. I just don’t think it’s hard to see that, between people who love each other, COMMITMENTS are made. And boy did Ruth ever make a commitment! Look at verses 16 and 17 of chapter one again:
"And Ruth said, ’Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go: and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.’"
WOW! That’s commitment! That’s remarkable! It’s amazing! What would cause someone to make a commitment like that? I don’t think you can make a commitment like that thinking only about yourself. I think true godly commitments are made when we’re also thinking about the welfare and needs of others! That’s why I believe Ruth was motivated to go with Naomi. She knew Naomi had lost so much that she NEEDED A FRIEND.
That’s a powerful piece of information! It’s also one of the reasons God blessed Ruth in the end of this story. God USES and BLESSES people who don’t get all wrapped up in themselves all the time! And the interesting thing is, WE HELP OURSELVES OUT OF TROUBLE WHEN WE DECIDE TO HELP OTHERS OUT OF TROUBLE.
You see, we usually get a bad case of the blues when we’re focused on our self. Focus on meeting the needs of someone else and see if it’s not the best possible medicine for you! God made it that way on purpose. He wants us to be like Him. Always giving. Unselfish. Ministering to the needs of others. That’s where the joy in life comes from.
When you DON’T FEEL LIKE STARTING OVER, when you can’t get motivated, find a hurt and heal it. Find a need and meet it. Find a fellow pilgrim who is discouraged and try to give them comfort.
The second powerful principle for STARTING OVER WHEN YOU DON’T FEEL LIKE IT...
2. SINCE YOU’RE GOING TO HAVE TO TAKE RISKS IN LIFE, TAKE SOME FOR GOD!
Some of us are greater risk takers than others but even a turtle has to stick his neck out to get anywhere in life. Since we’re forced to take some calculated risks (like getting in our cars and driving to church today) why not take some for the One who has done so much for us?
Ruth probably saw that her mother-in-law Naomi had some reality in her religion. Most likely she told Ruth about her God and the Hebrew teaching that this life was not all there is. In some way Ruth surely must have been able to sense something was different about the God the Hebrews worshipped. The heathen deities of Moab weren’t doing Ruth any good so she took a chance on finding out more about Jehovah. But it was a risk based on what she had learned and experienced so far. Being involved with her husband’s family and hearing them talk about their God must have moved her heart. She had to know more.
Her sister-in-law was different. She went back to her old gods. (v. 15) Perhaps this was because she was afraid to change. Resistance to change holds a lot of people back in life, especially in the area of true spirituality. Some folks would rather stay with what they know, even if in their heart and mind they know it’s wrong. It’s safer for them that way. No risk involved.
Ravi Zacharias says this about that in his book "Jesus Among Other Gods":
"We hear so much criticism from skeptics about what they often brand as ’secondhand faith’. It is implied that many people believe in God only because of the context of their birth or family or determined conditions."
"If the criticism is justified, and undoubtedly it sometimes is, why do we not show the same distrust of secondhand doubt? If it is possible for a person’s belief to be merely an echo of someone else’s faith, are there not hypocrites in doubt also?"
Early in 2001, Ron Barrier, the national spokesman for American Atheists Inc., asked if author Ray Comfort had the courage to face him in a debate in front of 300 atheists in Orlando, Florida, at their national convention.
Comfort told him that he would be delighted, and said that he would even pay his own airfare from Los Angeles to Orlando. A short time later, Barrier said that he had read Comfort’s book, "God Doesn’t Believe In Atheists", and immediately withdrew the offer.
After that happened, the author was bombarded by mail from professing atheists. They had heard that (in the book) he offers $1,000 to anyone who can prove to him that there is even one mistake in the Word of God. When he explained to atheists that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God (2 Timothy 3:16), and that any "mistakes" were their mistakes, he was threatened with a lawsuit. That didn’t worry him. However, it did worry him that he was called "chicken". He responded with the fact that it was American Atheists Inc. who had challenged him to a debate, then chickened out. They demanded to know the name of the guilty culprit, and then they got on his case.
A short time later, a general letter was issued from the office of Ron Barrier, stating the following (His use and non-use of caps): "Without going into any detail, the answer to the burning question on everyone’s lips is "YES, I DID INITIALLY ASK HIM TO DEBATE AND, YES, I DID WITHDRAW THE INVITATION AFTER I READ HIS IDIOT BOOK ’gOD DOESN’T BELIEVE IN ATHEISTS’.
Barrier was embarassed by the incident and "sweetened the pot" by offering to pay Comfort’s round trip airfare from Los Angeles to Orlando for a debate.
(Story from Crosswalk.com)
There is plenty of evidence to substantiate the existence of God. But the point here is - some folks don’t want to be bothered with the facts because they don’t want to risk change. (See Romans chapter one)
You can risk change for God! "He rewards those who earnestly seek Him". (Hebrews 11:6c NIV)
Ruth risked following Naomi back to the land of her God and it paid great dividends!
Just read the rest of the story in Ruth 4:9-17.
And it is the ending to the story of Ruth which brings us to our third powerful principle for STARTING OVER WHEN YOU DON’T FEEL LIKE IT:
3. EXPECT GREAT THINGS FROM GOD!
Ruth became the great-grandmother to King David! How did this happen? Someone in Ruth’s deceased husband’s family had to buy back or "redeem" the right to own the land in Israel that would have belonged to him. That "kinsman redeemer", as they called him, was Boaz. But don’t misundertand, this wasn’t just a business deal - it is a love story! Boaz didn’t want the land, he wanted Ruth’s hand in marriage. He had fallen in love with her watching her commitment to her mother-in-law and her gleaning in the barley fields.
So he goes through the proper channels and legally becomes her husband. God blesses them with a child. Obed, the father of Jesse, the father of David. David became the greatest king of Israel, a type of Christ, "the man after God’s own heart."
Who would ever have dreamed an outsider, a Moabite woman, would be in the very lineage of Christ Himself? GOD DID!
God knew you before you were born. He knows what’s going on in your life right now! You can expect great things from Him if you will take risks for Him like Ruth did. You can expect great things from Him if you will look after the needs of others and not just your own needs.
And you know what else? He made a way to be our "kinsman redeemer"! He sent His only Son to die on the cross in our place. Jesus purchased heaven for us on that cross. We can’t make it to heaven on our own. We’re sinners. Outsiders like Ruth. But God is rich in His grace. He loves to bless people. If you’ll only give Him a chance there is no end to the great things He can do!
