Hard Times Call For Faith
Dear Foothills Family and Friends,
The next seven weeks we will be engaging the biblical book of Ruth.
I’m calling the series: “Ruth: A Story of God’s Providence and Grace.” Please pray for Drew, Jared and I as we prepare these powerful messages for you.
This Sabbath, we will look together at Ruth 1:1-5 where the story begins with wave-after-wave of trouble, hardship and tough times for Ruth.
I read a piece by Jim Warren where he said, “When hard times come, be a student, not a victim.”
A victim says: “Why did this happen to me?”
A student says: “What can I learn from this?”
A victim tries to get even with those who have hurt him.
A student seeks to serve others in the midst of his difficulty.
A victim complains she is being treated unfairly.
A student thanks God she is not being treated as she deserves.
A victim believes the game of life is stacked against him.
A student believes God is at work even in the worst situations.
We could think of many additional comparisons, but the point is clear: We rarely control what happens to us, but we can always choose how we will respond.
Sometimes we will make the wrong choice and pay a heavy price for our mistake. Often we won’t learn the right lessons until we can look back and see how God was at work in our times of struggle and trial.
Something like that happened to a woman named Naomi. Her story is in the Old Testament book of Ruth. It’s a love story that starts with misery and ends with joy! It’s an account of anxiety, fear, love, and commitment that inflames the imagination and soothes the soul. It begins with despair and ends with delight.
This tiny book (only four chapters and 85 verses) covers a vast range of human emotions starting with heartache, then moving to intrigue, then romance, then happiness. Along the way we discover that God is “behind the seen,” and that God is the real star of the story as he works in, through, and sometimes in spite of the decisions and circumstances in our lives.
This week in our opening message we will discern three lessons that will help us navigate the hard times of life:
1. Hard times can happen at any time (verse 1).
2. Hard times force us to make difficult choices (Deut. 23:3, 6).
3. Hard times prepare us for a great work of God’s grace! (Gen. 50:20).
We will see that Naomi is a bruised believer, brokenhearted at what she has lost. But God has big plans that are about to unfold! Her sadness will be turned to joy, and she will discover that where sin and its ugly consequences abounds, grace and all the goodness and beauty of God abounds much more!
If you’re in a hard time right now, give God time to work. He knows what he’s doing even when we don’t have a clue.
See you on Sabbath!
Your pastor,
Duff
