Jonathan Evans

And we can do no better

 

The desire to do something the right way can cripple the desire to do the right thing. The fear of getting it wrong strangles the conviction of doing what is right. So the mind and heart are convinced that it is better to do nothing than to do something and get it wrong.

 

But to do what is right is sometimes to do what is right simply because it is right to do. We do the thing that seems right in the manner that seems best at the moment, and we can do no better. We cannot control consequences, only actions. If God in his wisdom gives actions, then in his wisdom he can take their consequences and make something good of them. 

 

God does work all things together for good. "The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps." (Proverbs 16:9). "The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord." (Proverbs 16:33) His is the wisdom and sovereignty and power, ours is the obedience and trust and rest.

Have faith in God, not in time

 

If God promises me that he will do something "tomorrow”, I will likely wait patiently for today to pass. But if God is more vague and says, “soon”, I will likely become impatient. If I know God is going to do something anyway, what harm is there in rushing it a little? 

 

The witches have told Macbeth that he will one day become king. So why wait? Why not today? Isn't it all the same? Perhaps faith in fate is not me waiting for things to unfold but rather, in faith, acting and taking hold of things. Macbeth murders King Duncan.

 

Young David is anointed future king of Israel by the prophet Samuel (1 Samuel 16:12-13). But David will wait over 20 years for this to fully come to pass. Although during those long, trying years he has several opportunities to kill the current king and cut short the waiting, he refuses. He has faith in God, not in fate or time.

 

Often we wait for God because we can’t do anything about our circumstances. But how often do we wait precisely because we can change things? The temptation to play God, to force God’s hand, to get ahead of God is attractive. Isn’t faith refusing to let things stay the way they are?

 

Time is a funny thing. We like to manage it and be productive. It makes us believe, feel that we're powerful; that we can control our lives; that we can plan for what’s coming tomorrow (James 4:13-14); that we can add hours to our days and days to our lives (Matthew 6:27; Psalm 139:16). But in the end we can't use time to impose our will, or dominate our lives, or speed things up.

 

Watching humanity exist in technologically primitive or underdeveloped cultures, we easily feel like they're wasting time. When our plans fail or our dreams take longer than we pray they will, we feel like we're "wasting time" or that "time is passing me by". But these feelings, beliefs, are often a misplacement of our trust in God; they betray our trust in our activity, busyness, productivity, technology, management. Not that these are wrong, but that they're not God's parting gift to a now mature, ready, self-sufficient humanity.

 

Has God given us everything we need, in order that we should no longer need him? Is the world and all that is in it a substitute for God, his word, his Spirit? Has he created and saved us to work, be productive, and be successful in recognition of him, a tipping of the hat, but not in worship to him, a surrendering of our life? 

 

If time is only a resource by which we seize opportunity, then how we manage it is of paramount importance. But if time is the revealing and ordering of God’s will, then how we live in time is of paramount importance.  

 

David “served the purpose of God in his own generation” (Acts 13:36), a purpose that included the times of waiting in David’s life – nearly a third of his life. Ultimately, his life, my life, your life, our time, is not for God’s purposes for us but for his purposes for us for him – his name, his glory, his will, and his kingdom. 

 

It was in the fullness of time – a fullness that includes not only the past but the present and the future – that God sent Jesus Christ into the world (Ephesians 1:10; Galatians 4:4), which means that time is not left to blind, random or automated fate, but that God is eternal, in eternity, and time is his servant, not ours.

Why am I rushed? Why am I in a hurry?

I pulled away, then stopped a second and a few inches short of hitting him. And not a stranger; someone I knew! Thankfully he was in a kind mood.

 

A good way to examine the spiritual condition of your soul is not how long you pray, how much Bible you read or how many church services you attend. A good way to tell how healthy your soul is is how quickly you want to go from one location to another; from one task to another; from one conversation to another.

 

Inside there’s a hurry, a feeling, a pressure, a gnawing sense of having to get somewhere or needing to get something done as quickly as possible. So we drive faster, walk faster, talk faster, eat faster, pray faster, read faster, and even try to go to sleeper faster so we can get up and start faster.

 

It’s hard to imagine Jesus being in a hurry. Busy, yes. Rushed, no. To read about Jesus is to notice a man not less busy than us, but as busy if not more. Yet He had time to touch the sick, to eat with sinners, to embrace children, to talk with strangers, to tell stories, to teach others. In short, Jesus carefully noticed and fully paid attention to all that was going on around Him. 

 

Am I too rushed to notice? Am I in too big a hurry to pay attention? Making the most of our days means recognizing and responding to the divine opportunities God gives us (Ephesians 5:16), opportunities we’ll miss or even lose if we don’t have time. 

 

Drive slower. Yes, for the safety of those around you, but also for the health of your soul. Teach it to keep pace with Jesus who is often neither before us nor beside us, but behind us watching as we hurry on ahead of Him, yet waiting patiently for us to notice.

Don't grow impatient on the way

The path of God's will for our life will take us across many different spiritual terrains. 

There is the garden path, along which the stream flows, the trees grow, and the fruit is abundant. We can sit, rest, and enjoy life without any anxiety or fear.

There is the mountain path that leads us up to the heights of God's glory, inexpressible and full of joy. We look out, we breathe in. We want to live here, away from it all!

On these paths we find our way easily and enjoyably. But there are other paths, paths we might not choose for ourselves.

The other mountain path leads us up and around to the place of testing, trial, death to self. We still trust, but we can barely breathe; we want never to return here, but we know there's just one way out.

There is the path that takes us through the valley, where the clinging darkness of fear and uncertainty surround. We don't know where our next step will take us – towards a clearing or further in. We struggle to keep calm, our emotions and thoughts confusing us, controlling us.

There is the desert path that takes us through doubt, anger, grumbling, discouragement, and despair. Here "in the middle of nowhere", with no end in sight, no water on the horizon, no sign of life anywhere around us, we begin to give up hope.

Down every difficult path we walk in obedience to God, we come face to face with an unassuming, yet dangerous temptation: to choose our own path.

"And the people became impatient on the way." (Number 21:4) And so we have, and so we will. But we must remember that "it is easier going out of the way when we are in (on the right path) than going in when we are out (on the wrong path)." (John Bunyan, The Pilgrim's Progress) 

God has not promised to go with us down the path of our own choosing. But He has promised that He will lead us down His path, and if we follow, be with us every step of the way.

"The steps of a man are established by the Lord, when he delights in his way" (Psalm 27:23).

90 Second Read: What do you hold to most tightly?

Finger tips, always reaching to touch, always stretching to take. Fingers, gripping till they're white, refusing to let go or to give up.  

What do you hold to most tightly? Why?

 

 

I like my iPhone. I can check my twitter feed and instantly be up-to-date for the next 120 seconds. I can write a quick email and get my inbox to zero, again. I can take a picture, have fun during the editing process and feel relaxed. I can read the latest post from my favorite blog, then copy it to Evernote for saving, reading or printing later. I can take my thoughts, access my Bible software which has more resources than my bookshelves could support, and record a sermon idea to remember it tomorrow. 

 

But then I turn off my phone and it's usefulness dies. 

 

Such are the things we make. They cannot speak or hear or breathe, but somehow we feel they give us life. But they're not life-giving. There's no life in them. It's not that they're bad things; some are absolutely amazing. It's that their usefulness ends when turned off. But our joy can't end there.

 

Now, I'm not giving up my iPhone nor asking you to give up any thing in particular. But I am asking us to remember that every generation of the church (and individual Christian) has the tendency to ignore the greatness of Jesus and turn to some technology or idea or trend far lesser than Him. 

 

And each generation has the opportunity to recognize in Jesus something far greater than what it has at its finger tips, as useful as it might be. 

 

Technology, creativity, innovation, authenticity, excellence, passion, courage, vision, communication are all words written in my Bible, in my journal and on my heart. But none of the tools, skills or ideas I have or associate with those words are worth pursuing, much less holding onto, if they're not nailed to the cross, fastened to the Anchor, submerged in the River, secured to the Foundation, built on the Rock, rooted in the Soil, drinking of the Fountain, beating in the Heart, leaning on the Arm, abiding in the Vine, or growing in the Sun. 

 

When Jesus said, "Apart from me you can do nothing" (John 15:5), He meant doing something more than our planning, our progress or our productivity. He meant something more like our obedience to Him and our faith in Him. It's out of our obedience and faith that our planning, progress and productivity can be rightly directed, fueled and measured. 

 

"Apart from me you can do nothing" isn't something we can engrave on our phones or advertise of our ideas or assert of ourselves or boast of our organizations. Why? Because these aren't the center or the source.

 

"Apart from me you can do nothing" is something that only Jesus can say about Himself. So we look to Him, we cling to Him, we worship Him.  

 

RUTH: God's extraordinary work through scarcity

“I didn’t get enough _________ ?” What would your answer be? Sleep? Food? Coffee? Clothes? Likes? Retweets? Compliments?  

Certainly, we’ve all thought about, felt, reacted to and commented on what we feel we lack. Perhaps on a daily basis...maybe it’s the first thought in the morning or the last one at night. At times our lack of something may be due to our lack of wisdom in our decision-making. At times our lack is perceived as such because the culture we live in is continually marching to the rhythm of “more, More, MORE”, and where there is a constant push for bigger and better, there is bound to be a constant discontent. 

But what if our scarcity or lack is not due to our foolishness or marketing, but rather to God’s sovereignty? What if God brings the scarcity into our life? 

“Now it came about in the days when the judges governed, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the land of Moab with his wife and his two sons.” (Ruth 1:1)  

 

 GOD’S POWER

There are many things in our control...and many things not in our control. Hebrews 11:3 tells us that, “By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.”  Hebrews 1:3 says that Jesus “is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.” 

Psalm 104 reminds us that all of creation depends on and looks to God for growth and provision. Psalm 22:8 declares: “For kingship belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations.” Furthermore, Daniel 2:21 explains that it is God who “changes times and seasons”, who removes and establishes kings -- not voters or civil wars.

Acts 17:26 says, “And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place...”. Whether or not you hate where you live or have the opportunity to move ten times around the world, you are within the boundaries of dwelling that God has established for you.

Proverbs 16:9 confirms that “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.”  And Proverbs 21:1 pronounces: “The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will.”  

God is all-powerful. 

Which brings us to Psalm 105:16: “When he summoned a famine on the land and broke all supplyof bread...” God summoned a famine -- scarcity and lack. So, when we read in Ruth 1:1 that there was a famine, we can be certain that God is sovereign over it. Furthermore, having the benefit of knowing the end of the story, we see that while the famine affected an entire land, God used it to draw out one person:  Naomi.

 

GOD’S PLANS

The land of Moab (Ruth 1:1) was out of the way, as it were. It was unforeseen and unplanned. I’m sure it wasn’t Naomi’s family’s destination of choice. God often will lead us “out of our way”, out of our comfort zone, out of what we know or think we know, into a place that He knows is good for us. It’s part of His plan.

With God, everything is “in process”.  While there are events, like a famine, in God’s sovereignty it is but a part of a process. There are no isolated events. As Christians, for example, we probably remember the moment we prayed, repented or encountered God, as the moment we were “saved”. While this moment may qualify and be understood as an event, in God’s sight this “event” was the culmination (and is the continuation) of a long unseen process in which God had been working through prayers, conversations, circumstances, conviction, repentance, thoughts...working to bring us to a point and to a place where we would see the glory of Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.

In the same way, God summons famines and scarcity in our lives as crucial parts and critical points in the process of changing us and working in us and through us. He can use scarcity to move us down a path we would never choose, to give us something we could never buy. Both are of grace. 

In the end, God wants me to lack nothing...in my conformity to His Son, Jesus Christ.

 

GOD’S PROVISION

Many times God provides for us out of seemingly ordinary means. In other words, God’s means of provision don’t always look like “God” -- they’re not always miraculous in appearance or attraction. But they are always by His sovereign, loving hand.

In Ruth 2:3 we read that Ruth “happened” to come to a portion of a field belonging to Boaz, the forgotten kinsman-redeemer who would become Ruth’s husband -- her provider and protector. There are no “happenings” with God! While many times God does things that seem to come out of nowhere, they have actually been sent ahead!

In Psalm 105, in addition to reading that God summoned a famine upon the land of Israel (vs. 16), we also read that God had sent a man ahead -- Joseph, sold as a slave (vs. 17). God had already provided an answer to the question before it was asked, a solution to the problem before it arose. Scarcity and lack can mean many things for us, but let them also mean that God has already prepared and sent ahead His provision. God had prepared Ruth for Naomi and Boaz for Ruth. (See 2 Kings 8:1-6 for a striking example of how God sent ahead His provision in a man named Gehazi.)

Still, while we wait we are tested. The Psalm says that until God’s word came to pass, “the word of the Lord tested him” (Psalm 105:18-19). While forgotten by men who promised not to forget him (Genesis 40:20-23), Joseph learned to trust in God. God was not only working in Joseph and for Joseph, but was also sovereignly orchestrating events in the land of Egypt. Similarly, during the ten years of the famine in the land of Israel, God was not only testing and working in and for Naomi, Ruth and Boaz, but also orchestrating events in the land of Israel. For soon He would visit the land, giving food and preparing a way for Naomi and Ruth to return. (Ruth 1:6).

 

As we come to trust in God’s sovereign hand during our seasons of famine, scarcity and lack, we learn to give Him thanks. The way through testing is by thanksgiving. Though undoubtedly we will say, “I don’t have enough ________.”, we will come to know and to understand that in every season of plenty, as in every season of want, God is enough. And this is how we know God is enough for us:  when we can give thanks to him in anything. 

“The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers.” (Psalm 24:1-2)

LEAD: A simple perspective on leading

As a leader, I have an insatiable curiosity to learn. However, I’m not learning in a vacuum; my desire to learn exists because of a specific purpose. Learning is necessary, but learning must also be purposeful, driven by a passion given by God. My passion is the church of Jesus Christ in general and Elim Grace (where I am Associate Pastor) in particular. The gift is one of leadership.

As leaders, we each are called to cultivate, develop and care for “the garden” (our home, workplace, business, organization, ministry, church, etc) God has entrusted to us for His glory, our joy and the good of others.

One of the things that has stuck with me —  a habit that has developed and taken root — is to lead with/from a perspective I encapsulate in the word LEAD (easy for me to remember).

 

L = look over

This is oversight, looking over what God and man have entrusted to me. It’s my responsibility to be aware of, and familiar with, what and whom I’m leading.  I am constantly looking over, reviewing, assessing, adjusting course, etc., bringing not only the big picture but the small details into view. If leaders don’t know what’s happening, probably nothing is happening!

This also means I am first and foremost looking over myself, examining and searching my own heart and motives. It means I am keeping the vision before me.

 

E = encourage (praise/affirm)

I try to make it a weekly habit (sometimes daily) to encourage someone and affirm them for something they’ve done. This is hard because it forces me to PAY ATTENTION and to take notice of people’s contributions, both big and small. This compels me to learn and to remember their names and faces.

But this becomes easier the more you do it, simply because of the positive impact it has on people, including your relationship with them and theirs with others. There have been countless times when I’ll be doing something completely unrelated to a person or their task, yet their face appears to my mind. I’ve learned, sometimes WAY AFTER the fact, that God is bringing them to my attention for a reason. Without fail, that reason has always been to bring them some measure of encouragement, affirmation and appreciation that they needed, unbeknownst to me.

 

A = act (initiate)

Whether it’s a big decision that will impact everyone or a small one that no one will notice, taking action and having initiative are critical to forward momentum and long-term growth and health. As J.R.R. Tolkien said, “Little by little, one travels far.”

One leadership principle I’m learning and am trying to incorporate into my thinking is one I heard from Andy Stanley: “Better before bigger”. It’s being attentive to the improvements and adjustments that we sometimes feel are insignificant, alongside the minor decisions and changes we make, that in time greatly help clarify the vision, strengthen the commitment, increase the energy and extend the impact.

 

D = develop (train)

This brings us back to learning and to teaching. While we must be continuously learning ourselves (receiving), we also must be teaching others (giving). Investing in the equipping and development of those you lead should be an exciting aspect of leadership! 

Whether it’s a link to an article, a book to study together, a face-to-face conversation, a blog post, formal training or any number of ways, if we do not serve others by taking the time to develop their skills and their gifts, they won’t grow, we won’t grow, and the “the garden” won’t grow. By resourcing them (sacrificing and giving), empowering them (releasing and trusting) and holding them accountable (correcting and affirming), growth, health and fruit are inevitable.

 

QUESTIONS: Do you maintain oversight as a leader? How? Do you encourage others? How often? In what small ways are you making things better? Are you developing your gifts and the gifts of others? How?

Get the most out of Sunday

As Christians, Sunday morning should be a time of expectation and excitement for us. We’re meeting with the living God! The living God is meeting with us! Therefore, we should “ENTER His gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise” (Psalm 100:4). A thankful heart, then, is something we bring to church, not something we get at church. 

 

Sunday morning is the time, and the local church is the place, where you and I gladly, willingly, deliberately and purposefully come to give thanksgiving and praise to God for all that He has done, is doing and will do. 

 

This should change the way we view and treat our “going to church”.  Attendance means “being present”. But we shouldn’t just want to be present. We should want to be active, i.e. participating, giving, receiving, responding. Thanksgiving and praise are activities of a heart that has been renewed by the Holy Spirit. 

 

To that end, there are things we can do to help us get the most out of Sunday, actions that we can take to actively pursue all that God has for us, and in this way honor Him and value the time.

 

Be early

Most of us will be on time for any commitment we have. A doctor appointment? A dinner appointment? A counseling appointment? On time. I would encourage you to be early for church. Come hang out with people. Spend a few minutes in quiet prayer. Soak in the atmosphere. 

 

Take the first step

The service doesn’t solely depend on the worship team or the preacher. Take the first step and prepare your heart, speak to your soul, focus your mind, get to know people in your row -- make a difference.

 

Write

I’m an avid iPhone user, but more than ever I’m dedicated to writing in my journal. A pen and paper can help you focus and help you remember things better than a screen and app can. Plus, with technology, I’m always one tap away from being distracted!

 

Smile and Serve

Be generous with your time. Smile. Ask someone how they are doing. Serve someone a cup of coffee. Help someone out to their car. Find some way to leave an impression of kindness. 

 

Sleep

It’s hard to focus when you’re tired. While God can speak to you in your sleep, you can only pursue God when you’re awake! Try to go to bed on time. 

 

Expect 

God delights in revealing Himself to His people! He desires to speak to us and to change us. Never expect to leave God’s presence the same way you came in. 

 

This post was provoked and inspired in part by this article written by Brian Houston. Check it out:   http://hillsongcollected.com/leadership/hillsong-conference-2013-revival-starts-with-me

The volunteer, the Apple Store and the face of Jesus

We can never forget that to volunteer and serve in a local church is a gift. We become part of something bigger than ourselves. My wife, who leads our children's ministry, is sowing the vision in the hearts of those who serve alongside her that when children are taught, families are impacted. Your "sowing" out of love and in faith can bear fruit beyond the simple task, time and place of your commitment. Jesus has always taken the ordinary and done something extraordinary with it! This includes every act of service you perform, whether seen or unseen, heard or unheard.

 

Photo courtesy of sxc.hu/profile/hussey

 

At Elim Grace, we ask all our volunteers to commit to the following three things: 

1. SUPPORT YOUR MINISTRY LEADER AND VISION

Not only do we willingly volunteer our time and our effort, but we willingly volunteer to submit to and follow that leader whom God has chosen to lead that ministry. This means that God will give them a particular vision and we must do all we can to encourage them, support them and join them in fulfilling it.

 

2. SERVE WITH JOY AND EXCELLENCE

It's possible to be satisfied with a ministry without ever treasuring people. But ministry exists because of people! God has called us to serve Him by serving others. And so we should do so with the greatest amount of joy and excellence possible. Why? Because doing a mediocre job when we could do an excellent job doesn't show people that we treasure and value them as those whom God has sent to us to love and to serve with eagerness.

 

3. FULFILL YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES ON TIME AND COMPLETELY

A lack of planning and preparation can greatly diminish the desired outcome of any ministry effort. Those we serve will very quickly see in our preparation and presentation, in our faces and words, whether we feel our time to serve is a burden or a gift. Let us pray AND plan ahead. Success in ministry depends upon both. 

One of the things we’ve implemented to help leaders as well as volunteers is the Planning Center Online. Five minutes of being proactive and signing-up or signing-in can eliminate confusion, miscommunication and extra work for all. Planning Center Online is how we organize and administrate our volunteer ministries and it is designed to simplify things for everyone from top to bottom. 

 

MY APPLE STORE EXPERIENCE

Two weeks ago I needed to make an “emergency” trip to the Apple Store. I arrived at 11:30 am, fully knowing that Apple’s customer service functions on a reservation basis. Still, I determined to “test” the experience.

I arrived, was greeted within seconds and described my problem. I was informed that I could get an appointment at 3:30 pm. But then the customer service representative asked where I was coming from. When I told her and what the distance was, she took a moment, grabbed her iPad, ran her fingers across the screen and informed me that she could have me in within thirty minutes. Of course, I was thrilled! Twenty-five minutes later, I was at the Genius Bar. Five Minutes later, my problem had been fixed and I was one happy customer.

Here’s the point: I don’t remember the names of the two employees who helped me. But I do remember their faces. 

Dear Volunteer, when you serve in your local church - whoever you serve, however you serve, whenever you serve - those children or teens or adults might not remember your name, but they will remember your face. You and I represent Jesus Christ to those who walk through our doors. We are HIS image, HIS reflection, HIS face. How will they remember the face of Jesus? We want them to see the light of HIS glorious face which draws, impacts and transforms people shining on our faces. 

Please consider volunteering if you don’t. It’s a big need, it’s a bigger privilege. And thank you again if you do. You are one of the “living stones” Jesus is using to build His church (2 Peter 2:5).

QUESTIONS: What are your talents and gifts? What need has been expressed in your church? Have you asked where you can serve? When was the last time you thanked your leader or asked if they needed anything?

RUTH: Under the wings of God's sovereignty

“The Lord repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!” Ruth 2:12 

There are some architectural structures that cannot be fully admired from a distance. At a distance we can only get a glimpse, but in proximity we can get a sense of the creativity and genius of the architect and the majesty and strength of the structure. It is when standing under some of these that we are given a proper perspective of what has been accomplished.

 

Similarly, as Christians, it is only when we come to stand beneath the sovereignty of God that we begin to understand and comprehend the immense majesty of God and His good and perfect will. It is only when looking up to God that we are given a proper perspective of our “size” - who we are and what we do in the light of who God is and what He is doing.

 

The book of Ruth helps give us such a perspective. It invites and draws us up close to the sovereignty of God. It beckons us to come rest and trust under the wings of God’s sovereignty. 

 

 

JUDGES

The first verse of the book of the Ruth tells us that the story of Ruth takes place in the time of the Judges. The last verse in the book of Judges tells us that during this time in the history of Israel, “everyone did what was right in their own eyes” (Judges 21:25). Here was a culture in a day where anything went, where the only standard for doing anything was whether or not it seemed or felt right to the individual. It was a land absent of the honor and worship of God.

But there was a household that was different, led by a man named Elimelech, which means “my God is king”. His wife is Naomi, and together they live in, but then leave, a land where “everyone did what was right in their own eyes” -- a land seemingly absent of God. Then, “my God is King” dies, followed by the death of Naomi’s two sons. (Ruth 1:1-5)

All around Naomi there is a lack of the extraordinary. There is an emptiness, a pain, a suffering, a doubt, a bitterness. There is an absence of God. Or is there?

God is always before all. He is always behind the scenes. When all appears to be lost; when all appears to be spinning out of control; when all seems dark; when all our prayers aren’t answered; when all the miracles we hope for don’t come; when all seems absent of God -- there, in the absence, is God. 

We are a headline culture. We read headlines, not stories. The headlines help determine whether or not we will read further. But God writes stories. God draws His headlines out from His stories. Some stories are short, some are long. Some are riveting, some are ordinary. Ruth is a story, an ordinary story with an extraordinary ending. God is never absent.

 

 

RUTH

Over time, Naomi returns to Bethlehem in Israel (Ruth 1:19). She travels from absence to absence, from emptiness to emptiness, except she has returned with God in disguise. 

In the land “absent” of God, where everyone did what was right in their own eyes, there was a story being written by the grace and mercy of God. The name of the story: Ruth. In contrast to a people pursuing their own desires, here was one who came to desire and to trust and take refuge in God. Like a small bird nestling up, close under the wing of the mother bird, Ruth stands underneath and looks up to God in the simplicity, yet immensity of His sovereignty. 

God is not absent after all -- neither in the land of Israel nor in the life of Naomi. God is in disguise, working in unsuspected and surprising ways. 

God is always doing something extraordinary through something ordinary. The ordinary things of life, like suffering and health, famine and plenty, diligence and work, relationship and reputation, purity and sex, loyalty and integrity, are all ways through which God works. Those routines of life that we so often feel “stuck in” are not without purpose. God is “up to something”, always! God orchestrates all things personal and universal, the universal through the personal. 

 

 

KINGS   

The story of Ruth played a critical role between the time periods of the judges and the kings -- between a time when “everyone did what was right in their own eyes” and Israel demanding a king for themselves so they could be like all the other nations (1 Samuel 8:5).

Decades after Ruth, we read in 1 Samuel 8:7 of God speaking to the judge and prophet Samuel regarding Israel’s demand for a king. God explicitly declares that Israel has rejected Him as king, but gives Samuel permission to agree to their request. God is not absent, even in the midst of His people’s rebellion. God is in disguise, even though He has been rejected.

In a short amount of time God will raise up a king named David. But David will not appear out of nowhere. David has long been in the mind and heart of God. “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.” (Ruth 4:17) Through the ordinary lives of Ruth and Boaz, God had been doing something extraordinary. While Ruth and Boaz went about marriage and parenting, working and resting, getting up and going to bed -- living their ordinary lives -- God was doing something neither of them could ever have imagined. From them would come David, and from David would ultimately come Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God (Revelation 22:16).

God is always doing something tomorrow today, through faithful people and their actions. God always has a solution, an answer. There is always evidence of God and His work and will being done. Sometimes it is instant, sometimes it won’t appear until decades or even centuries later. God accomplishes the daily and the eternal, the eternal through the daily. 

 

 

A REDEEMER

In the end, Naomi saw the goodness and kindness of God towards her. What once was a land and a home and a heart where it appeared God was absent, in reality, was a place where God was sovereignly and lovingly present. “Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel!”  (Ruth 4:14).

As Christians, we must remember always that Jesus Christ is our great Redeemer. He lives! In His sovereignty, God precluded all things from hindering, and enabled all things to work towards, the death of Jesus Christ upon the cross (Acts 4:27). So long as we cling to that cross, so long as we look up to it, so long as we stand underneath it, so long as we live for it -- so long as we take refuge under the wings of God’s sovereignty -- we can rest and trust that nothing can, nor ever will, stop the desire of God from being accomplished in and through us.    

 

This post has been adapted from the sermon "Ruth: Under the wings of God's sovereignty"