Hope in the Midst of Despair

Good morning. Oh, guys, you can do better than that. Good morning. Great. Thank you.

Great. Welcome to Watermark. My name's Chris. If you don't know me, I'm one of the pastors here.

And it's just really exciting to, after Easter, to be getting into a new series. We're going to

do a new four-part series in the Book of Ruth. And I'm personally really excited about this

because it's one of the most beautifully written stories, I think, in the whole of the Bible.

And so we're going to go for the next four weeks looking at this love story. And what we've done

is we've looked at the person of Jesus kind of moving up to Easter. And we've seen how Jesus

really is part of the climax of God's great redemption story. But sometimes we wonder how

this kind of, how Jesus fits into our ordinary, everyday, mundane lives, the ups and downs that

we go through. We wonder, where is God's big story? Where do I fit in? Where does my story

fit into this? And the Book of Ruth is going to show us how our story fits into where God's story

is working and what He is doing. Because God's writing a script, and your life and my life

is part of that script. And so what I want to do is I want to just, let's just pray,

and let's ask God to just really speak to us this morning.

Father, I thank you that even as we're here this morning, it's not an accident that we're here.

Thank you. You have brought us here because you want to speak to us.

I pray that you'd open our eyes, open our ears, open our hearts, Lord, to hear what you want to say.

I pray that you'd use my words, Lord, inadequate as they are, to just be able to convey something of

how beautiful you are. Please be present here this morning. In Jesus' name. Amen.

So this book that we're going to be looking at, the Book of Ruth, I really encourage you to be reading

along as we go. One of the interesting things is, God is not prominent in kind of the center stage

of the story. Okay? In the Gospels, you know, Jesus is kind of center stage. But in Ruth, God is kind of

working behind the scenes in everyday ordinary life. He's there every moment, but He's kind of behind

the scenes. He's working out His plan. And so what we're going to do is, you know, like a good TV drama

kind of unfolds bit by bit, the tension builds. We're going to look chapter by chapter over these

next four weeks to see how this storyline is going to play out. So don't go to the last page before

you've read, you've looked at the first part of it. Okay? So we're going to, I'm going to share, just go

through the story and pick out some things that even as 21st century readers, we might miss from the

background here. I want us to see what the author is trying to do with this book. And then we're just

going to come through and see four things that this passage really just wants to speak and share

with us. Okay? So let's go. Let's dive in to this book. First line, in the days when the judges ruled.

We're going to stop there. In the days when the judges ruled. What you need to know is the book of

Ruth is written during this period of the judges. Judges is the book before Ruth in our Bibles.

And what you need to know is the last verse of the book of Judges summarizes the whole book. It says

this, in those days there was no king and everyone did what was right in their own eyes.

This was a dark time. This was a time where people had stopped worshiping God, people who go in their

own way. There was injustice, there was violence, there was rape. It was a horrific time. And the book of

Ruth is this little glimmer of light in the midst of this dark time. And what you can see is things

are not easy in Bethlehem because God's judgment has come upon the people of God. There is a famine

in Bethlehem. Now Bethlehem, we all kind of know it from the Christmas story, but actually Bethlehem

was a small town. And it's famous for being King David's birthplace. But before we get to there,

we've got to know what it means. It means literally house of bread. That's what Bethlehem means,

house of bread. And it's ironic because the house of bread has no bread. There's no food here in the

house of bread. It's a tough time. So this guy, Elimelech, he decides, I'm going to leave the promised

land. I'm going to go all the way down to this place called Moab because I want to find some food

down there. And so you might think that sounds like a good idea. Okay, find the nearest supermarket.

They didn't have a supermarket. So Moab seems a good place. But if you were a first century,

if you were a Jewish reader and you heard the word Moab, you'd be going, uh-oh. Because Moab

Moab was the son of Lot, who was Abraham's nephew. And he was a son by incest. And the story didn't

get any better because Moab became a pagan nation. And they kept following idols and they kept

opposing Israel. When Israel wanted to get into the promised land, they were trying to get through

Moab. They said, can we come in? The Moabites said, no way. You're not coming our way. In fact,

what they did was they even sent a guy called Balaam to curse the Israelites. And then the Moabite

women came along and seduced the Israelite men and took them away to worship other gods and God's

judgment came upon them. So when an Israelite heard the word Moab, they were thinking, that's not good

news. In fact, even in Deuteronomy 23, the Moabites were forbidden to come into the Jewish camp

because of their idolatry and their wickedness. So when this says they're going down to Moab,

that's like an unemployed woman coming to you and saying, I'm going to the red light district in

one child to look for work. That's the same kind of impression. You're going, that doesn't sound like

a good idea. They're leaving God's people, going to a dangerous pagan place. And when they get there,

tragedy strikes. Naomi loses her husband. And then what happens very quickly afterwards,

it says her sons marry two foreign Moabite women, Ruth and Orpah. Again, a Jewish reader will be going,

oh no, that's not good news because Jewish men were not meant to marry foreign women, not because of

racism, but because they would lead them away to follow their gods. And so there's one poor choice

going to Moab and then there's another poor choice in who they're marrying. And for 10 years, Ruth and

Orpah, they have no children. They're barren. And for Jewish, in the Old Testament, barrenness and famine

and death are often curses for disobedience. That's what the law said. Tragedy strikes again.

Her two sons die. Is this a happy story so far? No. In that culture, men were the landowners

and your husband and your sons were your financial security, your future, your hope. They would protect

you from being taken advantage of by other men. They were the status. Their name gave you status. So

when both her husband and her sons die, she is basically now a vulnerable, nameless nobody.

In fact, many widows ended up just in prostitution to survive. And you know, actually in verse 5,

where our translation says, Noemi was left without her two sons and her husband. It actually says,

The woman. Because she's lost her name. She's a nobody in society.

Now we don't know, the way the author writes it, we don't know, is this God's judgment coming

on them because of their poor decisions? Or is it just the tragedy of life? There seems

to be ambiguity there. Elimelech was the one who took them down to Moab. But it's the women

who are the survivors. This is a dark time. And then a glimmer of hope comes. Naomi hears

that God has restocked Bethlehem with food. That's verse 6. That he's come to his people.

The house of bread has got bread again. And she starts the 7 to 10 day walk to go back

to Bethlehem. To a place she's not seen for 10 years. To her people. She's returning to

God's people again. And as she goes, she's got these two daughter-in-law, Orpah and Ruth.

And they go with her. But she knows her life is over. She's probably over 50. She's not going

to get married again. No one to look after her. Destined to poverty and a life of insecurity.

And so out of love for these two daughters-in-law, she tries to persuade them to go back.

She says, like three times, she says, turn back. Turn back. Turn back. Because she knows

they're Moabites. If they were going to come into Israel, they're not going to be accepted.

If they come into Israel, she knows their marriage prospects are low. She knows that there's an

Israelite law which said in Deuteronomy, if you have a widow, the brother of the husband who had

died was meant to marry that widow to provide protection for her. But she's got no more sons.

There's nobody else who can marry them and provide protection for them. So she's saying, listen,

just go back to Moab. You've got better chances there. You might find a husband there. You might find

a future there. You might find a hope there. I've got nothing. My life is over. I'm done.

I've got no hope. But my life is more bitter than for you because you might still have a chance.

So go back. Don't ruin your life. That's what she's saying.

And so as the story goes on, Orpah knows this is true. So she's like, okay, I want to stay with you,

but I know that I'm going to lose everything. So she decides to turn back to Moab. And do you notice

it says that she turns back to her gods? That's what it says in verse 15. She turns back to her people

and her gods in verse 15. But Ruth, you see the contrast with Ruth. You see, because Ruth,

she faces the full prospect of having every ounce of security stripped from her. She could become an

outsider, no future, no prospects. And yet where Orpah left in verse 14, it says, Ruth clung to Naomi.

Do you know that word clung is the same word in Genesis 2 where it says, when a man leaves his

father and mother and he clings to his wife and they become one flesh? This is as close as you're

going to get. And the author is saying, this is one of the most beautiful expressions of love

that you could see. I mean, look at this verse. This verse is amazing. Memorize this verse. It's

verse 16 to 17. Ruth says, you're not going to be alone. You're never going to be alone. You may

not have a husband or sons, but don't urge me to leave you. I'm not taking no for an answer here.

I'm going with you. My mind's made up. Where you go, I'll go. Where you stay, I'll stay. Your people

shall be my people. Your gods will be my gods. Where you die, I will die. And there will I be buried.

She's saying, Naomi, you're not abandoned. Your life's not over. I'll be with you.

And I will lay down my life. I'll lay down everything else for you.

My marriage prospects everything. You know, one commentator says this, with radical

self-sacrifice, she abandons every base of security that any person, let alone a poor widow,

in that cultural context would have clung to. Her native homeland, her own people, even her own gods.

Wow, this is powerful. How can she be so different from Orpah? That's the question.

Because whereas Naomi had left her life in God's covenant people to find bread elsewhere,

Ruth is leaving her old pagan life and is running to the community of God,

where she knows that there is a God of Israel there, who she's going to come to trust.

But she has no assurance of what lies ahead of her. She doesn't know. Kevin talked about that path

last week, where you just, you don't know everything that's going to happen. All she can do is trust

this God will provide. She knows gods of Moab don't offer her protection.

See, it's a big deal, a big deal for Ruth to leave. But she's finding refuge in God,

the God of Israel. And that's the foundation of her love.

Now, this is interesting in our culture, because

I think we live in a commitment-phobic culture, right? You know, we get an invite on Facebook,

and our favorite response to whether we're going or not is, maybe, right? We don't want to commit

because we're afraid that we might miss out on good things. We live in fear of FOMO, fear of missing

out, right? You know, we fear we might miss out in relationships if we commit too much. We fear if

we stay too long in this job, we might miss out on opportunities. We fear that if I serve God too

much, then maybe my life is not going to work out as it should do. We have FOMO. And yet Ruth's love,

costly, sacrificial,

is a love that I think every one of us wants to be loved like that.

And I think deep down, every one of us

would love to have the courage to love like that.

You see, I watched a YouTube video of a Polish guy

during the Second World War

called Janusz Korczak.

I'm not sure if I pronounced it correctly.

But anyway,

he was the director of an orphanage of 192 Jewish kids during the Second World War.

When the Nazis came to take those kids out of the concentration camp,

they told him, stay behind. We're just taking the kids.

Do you know what he did?

He took their hands and he marched with them to the concentration camp.

He got to the gate of the concentration camp.

One of the guards there recognized him and said,

hey, I can help you escape here. Don't worry.

Do you know what he said?

He said, no, I'm not leaving these kids.

They need to know that right to the end,

they're not alone.

And so he walked into the concentration camp.

He went to his death

with the very children that he'd been looking after.

Because he would not leave them alone

to face that.

That is what Ruth is doing here.

That is what Ruth is doing here.

She's showing a depth of costly love

that is so challenging.

And you see in the story,

Naomi is speechless.

Our translation says she stopped urging her.

She stopped urging her to not come.

But actually, the word says,

she didn't say anymore.

So seven days walking,

and they're just walking in silence

until they reach Bethlehem.

And you see, it's been 10 years.

Elimelech and Naomi left 10 years ago.

She returns now,

no husband,

no sons,

completely different woman,

haggard,

downcast,

aged.

People can hardly recognize her.

They say,

is this Naomi?

Naomi?

Is it really you?

And do you know what she says?

She says,

don't call me Naomi,

because Naomi means pleasant.

She says,

call me Mara,

because Mara means bitter.

She says,

Shaddai,

the Almighty,

Shaddai,

it means the mountain one,

the one who is sovereign

over the whole earth,

has made my life bitter.

I went away full,

but I've come back empty.

You stripped me of everything

that was precious to me.

I'm bitter,

life is bitter,

because God,

like a witness in a case,

has testified against me.

I know God's in control

of every moment,

and what's happened to me

shows me that he's against me.

I wonder if you've ever felt like that.

I wonder if you ever felt

whether God is really good,

whether you feel like he's against you.

Why didn't he answer that prayer

when I was asking for him

to do something?

Why am I still single?

Is God against me?

And right at the end of the chapter,

what we have

is we have

Ruth,

and the author explicitly tells us

Ruth the Moabite.

That means Ruth the immigrant.

Ruth the outsider,

who wasn't supposed to be in Israel

because she's a Moabite.

There she is,

standing right next to Naomi,

and Naomi can't see

that Ruth is God's kindness to her.

She can't see it.

And she can't see,

do you see what the last line

of the chapter is?

The barley harvest is beginning.

She'd lost food,

she'd lost family,

and now God is beginning

this story

of restoring and showing kindness.

But there's three chapters left,

so I'm not going to get into

the rest of the story.

But what do we get from this?

Okay, this story is a beautiful,

tragic story.

What do we get from this?

I want to go through four things,

but I want us to see,

this is a story of bitterness or trust.

Bitterness or trust.

Because I don't know about you

and what you're going through

in life right now,

but whether things are great

or whether things are not great,

sooner or later,

you will face situations

in your life

where you will be tempted

to grow bitter.

You know,

there will be times

where you're tempted to say,

why is this happening to me?

God, are you really fair?

This doesn't seem right.

You see,

whether it's because

of your own choices

or whether it's because

of the way life has happened

or other people's choices,

there is a reality

of the brokenness

of our world.

You see,

I have a friend

who got married

a while ago

and she moved to a new place,

got a new job,

had a new life.

Everything was great.

A month in,

she blacks out,

gets to the hospital

and they find out

she had an ectopic pregnancy.

The surgeon has to operate.

It's really serious.

They had to cut out

one of her fallopian tubes.

She's left in the hospital

for a number of weeks

feeling alone

in this new place

wondering,

God,

this is not the way

it's supposed to be.

I've only been married

a month.

You know,

I'm supposed to be

kind of productive

and getting on

with my new life

and I feel like

life's just on hold.

Ever feel like that

when life just feels

like it's on hold?

You know,

she's left with uncertainties

about the future.

Will we be able

to have kids?

Will it happen again

if I get pregnant?

We've only been married

a month.

Did I make a wrong decision?

Is God punishing me

for something I did?

And right when

the clouds roll in,

we have a choice

to run to God

or to run away from God.

To stay in Moab

and to run to Moab

or to run back

to the God of Israel.

And so we need to see

a number of things.

The first thing

we need to see

is in this chapter,

God is sovereign.

God is sovereign.

Naomi knows this.

She says,

in all of these circumstances,

God's hand

has gone out against me.

God has made my life

midder.

The Lord has brought me

back empty.

God has testified against me.

It's God who's done

all of this.

She knows,

she's understood something,

that God is Shaddai,

the one who is

sovereignly in control

of every single circumstance

that happens in your life

and my life.

She knows that.

He could change

her circumstances

at the blink of an eye.

You know,

but he hasn't.

There's a guy

called Rabbi Kushner

who wrote a book

called

Why Bad Things Happen

to Good People.

Has anyone read it?

Okay.

Why Bad Things Happen

to Good People.

And his argument

is basically this.

God is really good

and kind

but he's just not able

to change things.

He'd love to be able

to help us out

a little bit

in these circumstances

but he really can't

because,

you know,

he's not that powerful.

That's not what

Naomi believes.

That's not what

the Bible teaches.

Jesus says,

not a sparrow

falls to the ground

outside of my

father's care.

He's in control

of every detail.

God is sovereign.

But the second thing

is that God's smile

can sometimes

be hidden in clouds.

What do I mean by that?

Because sometimes

if you know

that God is sovereign

that can sometimes

make it even harder

to accept the things

that happen in our lives,

right?

Because if he could change it,

why doesn't he?

Why doesn't he answer

my prayers all the time?

Because Naomi

doesn't struggle

with believing

that God is in control.

She struggles

with knowing

whether God

is really good.

Whether God

really loves her.

You see,

Naomi,

Naomi tells

Orpah and Ruth,

may God show

kindness to you.

In other words,

she believes up here

God can be kind.

Maybe to everyone else,

but he's not going

to be kind to her.

Because she doesn't believe

that because she sees

these circumstances

that God is really

showing kindness to her.

God is going to be

and we've got to see

a couple of different

things through this.

One is this.

When they went to Moab,

was that a good choice?

No.

And sometimes

when we make poor choices,

there are consequences.

We can't think

that if we walk out

of God's people

and God's presence

and disobedience,

that there won't be

consequences.

You know,

if you go and put

your hand on a hot stove,

you expect it to burn.

You don't go and expect

nothing to happen.

Sin always has consequences,

but it clouds

our view of God as well.

And some of us actually,

we know deep down

we've been staying

in Moab

for a little while.

We know that in our hearts,

we come on a Sunday,

but deep down,

God seems a million miles away

and we prefer things

like news,

YouTube,

Facebook,

anything else

other than spending time

with God

because what drives us

is something else.

Our work drives us.

Our relationships drive us.

What my boss thinks

about me drives us.

And God is just

a Sunday exercise.

But God here says

it doesn't matter

whether you have made

poor choices

or good choices.

He says,

I want you to return

from Moab.

Return.

I want to show you

my kindness.

I want to show you

my kindness.

Because the thing is,

actually,

if you really realize it,

every single one of us

have chosen to go to Moab

in our lives.

We frequently do.

You know,

I want success

in my career

more than I want success

in God's eyes.

We've not loved

other people

as He's called us to love.

We've not obeyed

as He's called us to obey.

And so sometimes,

because we have this

kind of performance-based

mentality,

we think that if God

gives us a difficult situation,

if God strips something

away from us,

that maybe He's punishing us.

But is that true?

Sometimes there are consequences,

but Psalm 34 says,

even the righteous

suffer many afflictions.

I don't know what you're

going through now.

Maybe you're having

a great time.

Maybe you're having

a tough time.

But God,

don't put God

in this little performance box

where if you've worked

hard enough,

then you should get

the good grades.

And good grades means

happy, comfortable,

easy life.

And then if you've been

a bit lazy,

you haven't read your Bible

recently,

you haven't prayed,

therefore you're always

going to get bad grades.

God's going to give you

a hard life.

He's going to give you

a terrible life.

It doesn't work like that.

Sure, there are consequences,

consequences,

but God is wanting

to show us his smile

even when we feel

like the clouds are there.

Because here's the third thing.

God is sovereign.

God's smile is sometimes

hidden by the clouds.

Sometimes that's our

own sinfulness

and the consequences.

Sometimes that's just life.

But the third thing is

God strips us

to show us his kindness.

You know,

some of us have grown bitter.

We've grown bitter at God.

We've grown bitter

at our circumstances.

Maybe you don't think

it's really bitter.

Maybe just a little bit

of bitterness.

But we have expectations.

We have hopes.

We grow up with the expectations

that God is just going

to bless my life

and make it just flourish

in every way.

And we see in our lives

he does do that.

In our community group,

we've seen so many answers

to prayer

for whether it's work,

whether it's relationship,

whether it's babies,

all kinds of things.

God does bless us.

But isn't it true

that sometimes

the really good things

we want can become

the very hope

in our life itself?

We think life

is found in those things.

We want the gifts

more than the giver.

You see,

Naomi believed

that her life

and her hope

was determined

by her husband

and her sons.

She,

her security

lay with them.

And as God

stripped those things

away from her,

she thought life

was over.

That was it.

No hope.

Because she placed

all her hope

in that,

in her husband

and all her sons.

But let me ask you,

in your life,

what in your life,

if it was taken

away from you today,

would leave you

feeling like life

was over?

You had no hope

left.

What if I said

you'll never earn

more money

than you do today

in the rest

of your life?

What if I said

you'll never move

higher in your company

than you do today,

than you are today

in your life?

What if I said

you will never

get married?

What if I said

your kids

will not get

into that school?

Would that

disappoint you deeply?

Because these

are good desires.

They're not bad desires.

These are good desires.

Would that

disappoint you deeply?

Or would that

devastate you

to the point

you felt there was

no life worth living?

Because we take

good desires

and we place

all our weight

on them.

And when we do

that,

we make what

the Bible calls

an idol.

And the thing

is,

when you have

an idol of a hope

weighed so strongly

on certain things,

then it terrifies us

to think that we

could ever live

without it.

And the difficult

thing is,

with these desires,

is they bind us.

Because you notice,

for example,

if you struggle

with singleness,

and then you go

and look on Facebook,

and everyone else

of your friends

is getting married,

does that lead

to joy

or does that

lead to bitterness?

It can easily

lead to bitterness.

Or when you see

that somebody

else's spouse

seems so much

more proactive,

godly,

whatever it is,

than your spouse,

can we suddenly

end up getting

that little bit

of resentment,

saying,

it's not fair.

God,

I've been trying

to serve you,

I've been trying

to do these things

for you,

but it doesn't

seem to be

working out

as it should.

You see,

when bitterness

creeps in,

that's a warning light

to say,

idol alert.

You have placed

a good desire

to become

an ultimate desire,

and you've replaced

God as your

ultimate hope.

And the thing is,

we can be blind

to this,

which is why

sometimes in life,

God graciously

strips us

of things.

Not because

he wants to make

our lives hard,

but because he wants

to show you something.

Because you see,

Naomi was so wrapped

up in her bitterness

that she failed

to see God's kindness.

You see,

in spite of the

poor choices

she'd made,

God hasn't

finished with her.

This is beautiful.

Some of you feel

like you've messed up

in your life.

God's just kind of

getting you a hard time

because you've made

some poor choices.

This tells you

God's not finished

with you.

Because who provides

food again

in Bethlehem?

God does.

God is trying

to draw her back

into the people

of God.

What's the time

that she comes back?

She comes back

it's the barley harvest.

You see,

the very thing

she'd gone down

to Moab

to try and get

was the very thing

that actually God

was providing.

The barley harvest

is when bread

is made.

You get food.

God was wanting

to show you,

you come to me,

you'll be satisfied

in a way

that you go to Moab

you won't be.

But the thing is,

even when there

are these signs

of kindness,

the rays

are peeking

through the clouds,

she doesn't see them.

Because,

do you remember

when she said,

I went away full

and now I'm empty,

I've got nothing.

Who's standing

right next to her?

Ruth is.

Ruth who has

laid down

her life for her.

Ruth who has

given everything

for her

and she can't

see it.

She can't see it.

But we're only

at chapter one.

There's three more

chapters and

as you see

Ruth,

as you see

the barley harvest,

these are glimpses

of the kindness

of what God

is wanting

to show

to Naomi.

And that's

what he wants

to show to us.

Sometimes we're

so focused

on what we don't

have in our lives

that we fail

to see the kindness

that God is trying

to show you

day in

and day out.

And so when

we're struggling,

maybe you're struggling

wondering how am I

going to provide

in my life?

Maybe you're struggling

with a sense of

things just don't

seem fair.

God seems to not

be coming through

for me in a whole

load of ways.

We need to know

he's sovereign.

We need to know

sometimes his smile

is hidden in the clouds.

We need to know

that sometimes

he strips us

because he wants us

to see that

God has got

more for you

in himself

than just in his gifts.

The fourth thing

is he wants to

consider his kindness.

You see,

what you need to do

wherever you are

right now in your life,

you need to look up

and see

not just Ruth

is with you,

there is a better

Ruth who's with you.

Because Jesus Christ

was the one

who clings

closer than a brother

to us.

He didn't just

leave Moab,

he left heaven

itself for you.

He came as the

ultimate insider

but was treated

as the ultimate

outsider.

He didn't just

give up marriage

prospects for you,

he gave up

his very life

for you.

You see,

he was so committed

to bringing you

to himself,

to showing you

his kindness,

that he set his face

towards Jerusalem

and Peter

tries to tell him,

turn back,

don't come back,

don't do this

and Jesus says,

he rebukes Peter

and says,

no,

I'm going to the

cross for you.

You see,

he says,

where you should go,

I will go.

Where you should die,

I will die

instead of you.

So that the judgment

and the punishment

of God

goes on me,

not on you.

You're not alone.

Because when he rose

and ascended to his

father,

he sent his spirit

to us and he says,

I will never leave you.

I will never leave you

as an orphan.

God is with us

and God is for us.

So,

if God is for us

and God is with us,

this week,

you may have choices

and moments

where you're going

to be tempted

to be bitter.

You have a choice

whether you trust

or you get bitter.

But if Jesus

is so committed

to you,

so kind to you

that he would die

for you,

don't you realize

that you can trust him

in your life

with whatever you're

going through

right now

to work out

his redemption plan

because there are

three more chapters

left

and he sees

a bigger story

and he's weaving

your story

into his story.

See,

he wants to bring you

the barley harvest,

the barley harvest

of knowing him.

Every day

this week,

faith

will be

a matter

of a battle

to remember

his kindness

to you.

It doesn't matter

whether you chose

not to grow bitter

last week

when you looked

on Facebook

and did other things,

you talked to your colleagues.

This week's a new week.

You can choose

to be bitter

or to trust.

this is the fight

of faith

but God

calls you

to consider

the kindness

he's showing

to you

most beautifully

at the cross.

You see,

my friend

who was in hospital

in the midst

of her darkness,

she chose

to refuse

bitterness

and to run

to God

and do you know

what she told me?

When I felt

everything was stripped

away,

my hope was gone,

I found hope

in God.

I have never

experienced

such a closeness

with God before.

When God

is all you have,

you discover

that God

is all you need.

We sing

about God's goodness,

we say,

I know God loves me

but often

that's just

left up here.

Sometimes God

will bring you

through circumstances

because he wants

to show the kindness

to go from here

down to here

so that you can

truly sing,

God is sovereign

in my life

and God is kind

in my life

and my story

is hidden

in his story

and he is working

out his great purposes

and plans

and he will get

the glory.

He's what you need

for whatever you're

going through right now.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.

Father, I just pray.

I know there are

some people here

who life has been hard.

Health,

work,

relationships

and Lord,

there are some people

here who have grown weary

and are wondering

whether you really

are good

because sometimes

you felt a long way

away.

I pray that you'd

help them to lift

their eyes

and to see

your kindness

in the little things

and in the big things.

I pray, Lord,

for those of us

who right now

are actually,

we're happy

in Moab.

We're happy

just finding

our satisfaction

in all kinds

of other things, Lord,

but I pray

that you'd show us

that those things

are empty,

that they're not

going to,

they're not going

to satisfy.

Show us that we need

to run back

to you

and when we run back,

we're not faced

with a God

who's just looking

to just grudgingly

accept us

but we're looking

at a God

who is desperately

wooing us back

to yourself.

I pray,

make us,

those who learn

how to fight

this week,

to remember

your goodness

and to trust you

and to see

your great love

for us.

In Jesus' name,

Amen.