His Heart My Home
Trouble and trials will come into our lives. I call them my Jericho’s - “Let the walls fall down” or my Goliaths, “Giant problems in my way.”
When we face problematic decisions and choices, we may struggle with one of three things:
Run and escape it.
Suffer it out, and endure it in anger and bitterness, blind to Gods purpose.
Make it a living sacrifice in an act of spiritual service (Romans 12:1)
I have experienced all three things in my travels thru life. I have had seventeen jobs since graduating from college – My wife and I have lived in 4 different states - and moved 18 times – 7 houses and 11 apartments. Majority of these companies went out of business, but there were times when she wanted to “Get the hammer and hit the fly on Stevie’s head “. Not all my decisions were “Providentially“ led by God but by escaping perceived tough times ahead “real and imagined.” At least three of those moves were bad choices but I am not alone. So many examples we can read in the Bible of great people of faith not waiting on God. But even though I had this written record of poor decisions in scripture, I still did dumb things and there are consequences for leaving God out of our decisions.
Naomi’s husband Elimelech (whose name means “my God is king”) wanted to escape the famine in Bethlehem. It is ironic that there was a famine in Bethlehem which means "House of Bread".
Instead of waiting for God’s direction, having faith in His providence and protection, Elimelech moved his family to Moab to escape death. His sons married Moabite women: Mahlon married Ruth (Ruth 4:10), and Chilion married Orpah which by Jewish law was forbidden. The consequences for his decision were tragic as he and his two sons died while in Moab. Elimelech and his family had fled Judah to escape death, but the three men met death just the same. The family had planned only to stay temporarily in Moab, but they remained for ten years (Ruth 1:4).
Naomi had left Bethlehem with a husband and two sons and had come home without them. She had gone to Moab possessing the necessities of life, but now she had returned home having nothing. She was a woman with empty hands, an empty home, and an empty heart. She said “Do not call me Naomi but “Mara” which means bitter.
While Naomi lost her faith in God, her daughter in law Ruth, now a widow, was an inspiration of innocence, love, humility a child-like faith and a deep desire to go back to Bethlehem with Naomi. Her words were lyrics of song written in 1872 called the “Song of Ruth” and describe her heart.
And Ruth said: Entreat me not to leave thee,
nor to return from following after you
For where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people and your God my God.
When you read the genealogy of Jesus Christ in Matthew 4, Ruth is one of five women listed.
If we try to escape our trials, then we will miss the purposes God wants to achieve in our lives.
If we only “suffer it out” and endure our trials, then trials become our master, and we tend to
become hard and bitter.
But if we learn to volunteer or enlist our trials, they will become our servants instead of our
masters and work for us; and God will work all things together for our good and His glory (Rom. 8:28).
God is mentioned several times in the book of Ruth. At a time when we look for God to be active through a judge or king, God instead works out his will through the everyday faithfulness of his people.
Ruth had a heart and hunger for Naomi’s God and she experienced God’s Providence, Merciful Kindness, (Psalm 117) and Redemption. His Heart became her home forever.ALWAYS BE MY HOME -Rachel Lampa
~ Steve Byers and his wife Debbie have lived in the Charlotte area since 2017 and have been attending LIFE Fellowship for five years. Steve is a musician and songwriter and sings in the Oxygen Choir. Steve and Debbie, have one son, Josh and a daughter-in-law, Avery. They are grand parents to Jaxon and Grayson.