Problems, big and small.
We all encounter them.
If we are surprised, we should not be, as they are a facet of life, whether you are an unbeliever in Jesus Savior or a believer. While at The Cove last Thursday, I met a wonderful woman of God named Tina. She commented at lunch that most Christians think that when they make the decision to follow Jesus as Savior they think they are climbing on board a cruise ship, that all will be "smooth seas ahead". In reality, the apostle Paul tells us we are climbing on board a battleship. Tina said that most Christians are dressed like Barbie while sitting at the prow of the battleship, when they ought to be properly equipped to do battle. Because, battle will find you.
How does this relate to the story of Naomi and Elimelech in the book of Ruth?
Elimelech, as the God-appointed head of his household, faced a big problem: a serious famine in the land. His response to the situation was what? To run. He made the decision to leave the Land God had blessed him with and flee to a place that, while only 50 miles away, was "a world away" in terms of culture, religion, blessing. He left the place God had ordained to bless him, because his faith in his God was insufficient to cover his current circumstances. Ironically, the name Elimelech means "my God is king". In this most critical situation, it appears Elimelech did not "live up to his name".
I have often wondered if Naomi was on board (pardon the pun) with this decision. You know, right, that she had little choice but to follow her husband there? They may have discussed the "pros and cons", but in the end, society dictated that she follow her husband's lead, abide by his decision. As a wife of nearly 25 years myself you can bet there have been times my husband and I have disagreed on matters. Yet, still, because he is a man of God and because I am commanded to let him lead, I almost always do so. (Those who know me know that my spirit is intense; so, this submission is an act of God I'm describing.) And, you know what? I have been so very, very blessed by obeying God in those situations. My husband is not "always right", but he usually is. I am so very grateful for a godly husband. Ok, so, Naomi....we are not told whether she thought this move to Moab was a good idea or not. Turns out....it wasn't. Not at all.
Have you wondered why there was a famine in "the land flowing with milk and honey"? My gracious! The name of the town where Elimelech and Ruth lived was Bethlehem, which in Hebrew is Beit-Lechem. "Lechem" means "bread" and "Beit" means "house". House of Bread....Bethlehem. Almost always in scripture, famine follows national sin of the Israelites. I mentioned in the last Ruth post that we read in Judges 21 that, during this era, everyone was doing what they thought was right, divorced from the principles God had laid out for them in his Torah. God was using this famine to discipline his people, with the end-goal of drawing them back to Himself. As is often the case of national discipline, the godly end up suffering along with the ungodly. (Judges 2:10-19).
When we encounter a big problem, there are only three options available to us - - - endure it, flee from it, or embrace it. To quote Warren Wiersbe here:1
If we only endure our trials, then trials become our master, and we have a tendency to become hard and bitter. If we try to escape our trials, then we will probably miss the purposes God wants to achieve in our lives. But if we learn to enlist our trials, they will become our servants instead of our masters and work for us, and God will work all things together for our good and His glory (Romans 8:28).
When we attempt to escape our problems through less-than-godly methods (alcohol, drugs, food addiction, unsanctioned pleasures, etc.) we are then no longer "walking by faith", as God commanded us to do. An escape hatch seems oh-so-right! It is incredibly beguiling, isn't it? I know, my readers, that you have all "been there" at some point in your life, as have I. To escape seems the answer. But, when we make that choice, to embrace the wisdom of the world instead of the wisdom of God, as with Elimelech, we end up jumping from the frying pan into the fire, a worse place than staying put and engaging in the fight.
Have you ever received a beating? I haven't, truly, although my younger brother and I used to physically fight when we were kids. Yes, we'd go out into the front yard and just "have at it" until we were worn out. We mainly did it to get rid of excess energy, not out of any animosity toward each other. I can remember curling up into a human "ball" to protect myself from his kicking or hitting or whatever, which was a reasonably effective strategy. This method did not, however, stop the onslaught of blows. I was merely enduring the attack, which pretty much ensured it would continue. I could choose to remain under attack, and get angrier and angrier about it. Or, I could go on the offensive.
The apostle Paul shows us how to engage and to win over life's problems. The answer is in Ephesians 6. I wrote 3 posts about the process of getting dressed appropriately for life's inevitable battles. If you want to review them, you can find them listed under Sources, below.
God calls us to "play offense" and walk with Him by faith, through our problems. The other night I traveled to North Carolina for a one-day seminar on blogging. At one point, while crossing over the mountain, the fog was so thick I could hardly see. I slowed down, kept my eye on the center line and drove carefully as far as I could see, which was not very far. It's often this same way when we are beset by problems. We certainly can't see "the end of the matter". We may not be able to see far at all, as it relates to solving the problem. Still, the answer is to trust God's promises to His own (believers), obey His commands as revealed in the Bible, and rely on Him to get you through to the other side.
Sources:
1 Wiersbe, Warren W. The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: the complete Old Testament in one volume. David C. Cook, 2007, p. 478.
2 http://resplendentdaughter.blogspot.com/2016/06/getting-dressed.html
3 http://resplendentdaughter.blogspot.com/2016/06/armored-up.html
4 http://resplendentdaughter.blogspot.com/2016/06/smoke-em.html
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