Not Abandoned - Sunday January 24, 2016
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 ... The two sons married Moabite women. One married a woman named Orpah, and the other a woman named Ruth. About ten years later, both Mahlon and Kilion died. And this left Naomi alone ... Ruth 1:1,4-5 NLT
Naomi's husband and sons are dead. Her protection and her provision are gone. The turn of events in Naomi's life looks very bleak. The truth of the matter is that only God can help Naomi now.
Naomi's name, as she is going to Moab, means "pleasant." As she comes back to her homeland, she says, "Don't call me Naomi. . . . Instead, call me Mara, for the Almighty has made life very bitter for me." (Ruth 1:20 NLT). She is now in a position where her husband can't help her, and her sons can't help her, and her daughters-in-law can't help her. Only God can help her.
I think author Frances Vander Velde phrased it beautifully when he wrote this: "God was loving Naomi all the while that he was leading her through the shadows." I want you to remind yourself of one thing: He's there. God is with me. This is the lesson that Naomi will soon learn. She's not alone. She'll never be alone. Her faith and maybe your faith may be battered, but she is not abandoned. She's not abandoned.
The book of Ruth proclaims to all of us down through the centuries that every one of us matters. And God is intimately involved with every detail of our lives. That truth will help us to become today's heroes for God.
Submitted by:
Rory Whitney
Faithwalkers Midwest 2014
Ruth,
One-Year Reading Plan:
Genesis 48:1-49:33
Matthew 15:29-16:12
Psalms 20:1-9
Proverbs 4:20-27
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SCRIPTURE REFERENCB-ES: Unless otherwise identified, Scripture quotations are from the New American Standard Bible B) The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are from the Holy, Bible, New International Version, copyright B) 1973, 1978, 1984 by InternaB-tional Bible Society; (NKJV) are from New King James Version B) 1982 by Thomas Nelson; (NLT) are from the New Living Translation, B) 1996, Tyndale House Publishers; (ESV) are from English Standard VersionB., B) 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers; (TM) are from The Message B) 1993 by NavPress Publishers.