Scripture reading Ruth 1:1-7 Focus verse: Ruth 1:1, 3-6- in the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab. Now, Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, died, and she was left with her two sons. They married Moabite women, one named Orpah and the other Ruth. After they had lived there about ten years, both Mahlon and Kilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and husband. When she heard in Moab that the Lord had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them, Naomi and her daughters-in-law prepared to return home from there.
I remember one day walking to the bus stage to border a public van for my traveling. There was one packed and getting ready. After I boarded it, I realized that it did not have very good seats, no good painting, and no good music for my entertainment. I saw it not meeting my expectation. A few minutes one well painted van, with nice looking seats and loud and bumpy music drove into the bus stage. Then I had a voice telling me, “you are in wrong van, you are going to get bored, get out and board that good looking van with the music you wanted.” Being that the bus conductor in the van I had boarded had not taken my bus fare, I quickly got out and squeezed myself through to the good looking van. Because it’s appearance pleased many, it was quickly full with travelers and begun the journey.
After it left the town, I began to sense some heat developing in the van and it sounded like it had a mechanical problem. A few minutes later, the driver stopped the van, stopped the music and we were told that the van had an engine problem and we had to alight. As we alighted, the van I had left at the stage came and passed in a very good speed, the engine producing a very good sound suggesting it was perfect. Then, I begun to regret, because we had to wait for some hours there in order for a mechanic to come and it’s problem be corrected. To make it worse, it failed and now we had to walk on foot to the nearby station to look for another alternative. I didn’t like the experience but I had to admit that it was my choice and I had to face it that way.
Choices have consequences! Elimelech realizes that life is not looking good in Judah and decides to go to Moab. He wanted to have it easy even at a time when God’s land, Judah and God’s people, Israelites were going through hardship (famine). According to him, Moab looked attractive, relaxing and safe from hardship. Little did he know that it was a land of death and regret for his life and that of his family. The Bible says, he lost his life, lost his two sons and lost his resources.
There are moments in life when we have to persevere and endure the hardships of life. Believers are not called to a life of everyday enjoyment and must not strive to find it easy. Even when situations are hard we should not compromise our faith just because we want it easy. We may have it easy for a moment but later it turn out poisonous. Proverbs 14:12 – There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death. Jesus at one point stated that, “Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it” Matthew 16:25. As believers let us be led by faith and not by sight. Let our decisions during our troubled days be guided by total faith and trust in the Lord God Almighty and not be led by fear. Tough times may come but they will never last forever. Romans 8:18 – I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. Let nothing separate us from the love of God. Let us not stop praying even when things still look darker, God is still at work. Ours is to keep waiting patiently in prayer as we follow all that he instructs us.
Pastor Eliazar Wambo
Director of Bethesda Faith Ministries (partner of Interlocking Ministries)
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