Under His Care

This week I felt that God was leading me to start a study on my own. I sometimes find this difficult as I lead a study every other Sunday evening so delving into two different areas makes me feel as though I cannot give one or the other the true attention it deserves. But, our every other week study often gets postponed due to weather and conflicting schedules and I was feeling rather restless in my study time. In prayer I felt God was leading me to pick up a new study I just purchased by Kelly Minter, entitled Ruth, Loss, Love and Legacy. So, I trust that he will help me tie the two together and in the long run, use one to grow the other. I am always amazed by what he shows me, and I would be remiss if I did not take a minute to share with you what I am learning.

Many of you have studied Ruth before. I knew a few things going in, such as her heritage, a Moabite who worshipped false Gods and her mother-in-law, Naomi, whom she followed back to Israel due to the death of their husbands. But, I am getting way ahead of myself. Suffice it to say, the story may be short but it is full of lessons we can all learn. One lesson I have learned this week is this. It is better to be under His care right here, where I am, than seek the care of something outside of His will. We all know the verse in Jeremiah 29 that says “I know the plans I have for you, plans to help you and not to hurt you. I will give you hope and a good future.”

God has our future planned, he knows our tomorrows before we do and His plans include hope and good. Yet, I find myself worrying over, even manipulating the future sometimes, and thinking I know better than God. When Elimelech realized that his family would starve in Bethlehem due to famine, he pulled up stakes and moved his family to Moab.

The ironic thing about all of this was that Elimelech worshipped God, the giver of life, the one who gave manna from heaven for the Israelites as they travelled to the Promised Land. Yet, when the going got tough, rather than believe on the one who could give bread from heaven, he moved his entire family to a place that didn’t even know who God was. The saying goes “The grass is always greener on the other side” and yet, not long after he got there he died and his sons died, leaving young wives and a mother-in-law who were now in a foreign land and knew no one.

There is really no explanation as to why Elimelech chose to go to Moab. Research does not indicate long lost relatives or some distant friend that helped him make his choice. He just packed up and moved to a rather hostile land in which history shows a rather turbulent past with the Israelites. But Elimelech seemed to have forgotten the past troubles and just saw the grass as greener and the famine not so daunting from that far off land. So, he packed, moved and settled in Moab.

Are you ever tempted to pack up, move on and settle in a distant land because the right here and now just looks like it is too hard to bear? I know I can say with all certainty that there have been times in my life when the temptation to pack up and move with no forwarding address was far greater than I care to admit. I have known people to do just that, thinking that by packing and moving the troubles will be gone, a moving truck becomes their escape hatch and all seems right in their world for a few years but eventually the trouble finds them again. You see, I don’t believe troubles disappear just because we run away. I believe they have a way of finding us regardless of where we are. It all boils down to how we live our lives. When hardships come, do we hunker down for the long haul, pull out our faith reserves and like a good soldier secure our bunker or do we hightail it to a distant land because it is so much easier?

The easy way often seems like the best way. Christ even talks about this in John 16:33b when he says “In this world you will have troubles, but be brave! I have defeated the world.” In one breath he says “you are going to have troubles, there are no ifs, ands or buts, however, along with that is this promise, I have defeated the world, so guess what, those troubles are temporary!” Many versions say, “Take heart, I have overcome the world.” What does it mean to overcome? The obvious definition is “to defeat” but if you dig a little deeper the definition is also “To be victorious, to surmount opposition, to prevail” some dictionaries even use the words, wallop, overrun and conquer in their definition. And that is just what Jesus has done for you. He has walloped the world into submission. Before we ever experience our troubles He knows they are coming. He says, here are the tools we have to defeat these troubles, the Word of God, your relationship with God’s son and oh yes, the Holy Spirit whom I sent to help you defend against the attackers this world will bring.

That is the lesson I learned from Ruth, that no matter how green the grass may look on the other side, when troubles come I have been given the tools to hunker down and weather out the storm. I refuse to run like Elimelech, but to stand firm during the famine because “The Bread of Heaven” has assured me, He has already defeated the World! I can’t think of a better soldier I would want fighting my battles, can you? There is not one warrior in the bible whose journey was easy. The cool part was they all had one thing in common, when the going got tough rather than run away, they faced their enemy and the rewards were amazing. Don’t believe me, take a minute today to read Hebrews chapter 11, then go back and refresh your memory with the stories of Moses in Exodus or Abraham in Genesis or David. David can even tell you, that no matter where you run, you can’t hide from God. Lessons learned, examples given, green grass, not so green anymore.

So, when the way seems paved with troubles and the grass is looking a little greener in a far off land, remember Jesus’ promise, “He has defeated the world!” Take up the armor of Christ (Ephesians 6:10-17) and fight the good fight, stay the course, you will find that not only is the grass greener right where you are, the rewards for your faithfulness far outweigh any earthly treasure. 1 Peter 1:7 says “These troubles come to prove that your faith is pure. This purity of faith is worth more than gold, which can be proved to be pure by fire but will ruin. But the purity of your faith will bring you praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is shown to you.” Stay the course, the Glory of Lord is coming!