SPEAKER_00: Good morning, and thank you for beginning your day with us.
SPEAKER_00: In student ministry, just a few weeks ago, we began a brand new series through the book of Ruth.
SPEAKER_00: You might be familiar with the story of Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz.
SPEAKER_00: And if you are, then you know that Naomi is someone who experienced a lot of loss in her life.
SPEAKER_00: In just the few first few verses, we actually see that she loses her homeland, she loses her husband, she loses her two sons, and that her two sons did not have children.
SPEAKER_00: They were unable to have children in the 10 years that they were married to their wife.
SPEAKER_00: So Naomi takes her daughter-in-law and she starts making her way back to her homeland because the famine that they left from came to an end.
SPEAKER_00: And when you get to Ruth, chapter one, starting in verse 19, you see this.
SPEAKER_00: So the two of them, that being Naomi and Ruth, went on until they came to Bethlehem.
SPEAKER_00: And when they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them.
SPEAKER_00: And the women said, Is this Naomi?
SPEAKER_00: She said to them, Do not call me Naomi, call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.
SPEAKER_00: I went away full, and the Lord has brought me back empty.
SPEAKER_00: Why call me Naomi when the Lord has testified against me, and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me.
SPEAKER_00: You see, Naomi comes back to Bethlehem, only being able to focus on all of the things that she's lost in her life.
SPEAKER_00: But because of this, she's unable to focus on all the ways that God has provided for her.
SPEAKER_00: You see that God lifts the famine and provides a way for Naomi to return home.
SPEAKER_00: He gives Naomi a devoted and loving daughter-in-law.
SPEAKER_00: Earlier before this, she takes Ruth and Orpah and says, Go away, I've got nothing for you.
SPEAKER_00: And Orpa leaves, but Ruth stays and embraces her mother-in-law.
SPEAKER_00: You also see at the beginning of chapter two that he's preserved a kinsman of Naomi's late husband, Elimelech.
SPEAKER_00: He then draws Ruth to Boaz's field in chapter two, and then he gives Ruth through Boaz food, protection, and favor.
SPEAKER_00: And then at the end of chapter two, you see that Naomi's eyes are opened to a brighter future.
SPEAKER_00: Naomi can only focus on the hurt and the sorrow and the suffering that has taken place in her life, and it has blinded her to the joy and provision that is in the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: And I wonder if any of us might find ourselves in that position right now.
SPEAKER_00: That because of the situations in life, the things that we might be struggling through or suffering through, or maybe even the things that we're so joyful about that we forget God in it, that because of these situations, that we are failing to see God's provision in all of it.
SPEAKER_00: So my encouragement and challenge to you this morning is that no matter what your circumstance, no matter what your situation, no matter what your suffering might be, is to stop, pause, thank God for his goodness, and then reflect and see where God's provision has been present in your current situation.
SPEAKER_00: God is always good.
SPEAKER_00: God is always glorious and righteous.
SPEAKER_00: And we can take heart knowing that he is working all things for his glory and for our good.
SPEAKER_00: That's all that I have for you this morning.
SPEAKER_00: I hope that it was encouraging.
SPEAKER_00: May we strive to love Jesus more obediently and to make him known.
SPEAKER_00: Peace.