Before I went to sleep last night, I read the entire book of Ruth in the Bible. It's one of those smaller books in the Old Testament and is often skipped over or forgotten. As I was reading it, I knew I had read it about two years ago. This time it held some more significance though. The verses that stuck out to me most were Ruth 1:16-17. That's all I highlighted. This morning I went to Church. We sang Blessed Be Your Name. Then our Pastor opened up the alter to let people come up and pray about anything that was on their heart. I stayed in my seat because I didn't feel like I should go up. I don't have anything on my heart this morning that I'm ready to give up yet. So, after this our Pastor usually shares what we're reading from out of the Bible. He told everyone to turn to the book of Ruth. Then he read verses 1:16-17. Go figure. Pure coincidence? I think not!
But Ruth replied:
"Do not persuade me to leave you
or go back and not follow you.
For wherever you live, I will live;
your people will be my people,
and your God will be my God.
Where you die, I will die,
and there, I will be buried.
May the Lord do this to me,
and even more,
if anything but death separates you and me."
Ruth 1:16-17
Here's a little background information about Ruth. Her mother-in-law is Naomi. Naomi's husband and sons die. During this time, there is a famine in the land. Naomi and Ruth are both widows. They decide to go back to the land of Judah where there is food. Ruth decides to stay with Naomi and take care of her mother-in-law. In the land of Judah, Ruth was considered a foreigner. She worked for a relative of Naomi's late husband. Ruth married him and was no longer a widow. Although she lived in destitution, she was redeemed because she made the sacrifice and followed Naomi and was faithful to God.
Naomi was so lost that she renamed herself Mara, which means "bitter". Her and Ruth had no family, no land, and no possessions. It would have been easy to stay mad about their circumstances and remain bitter. She wasn't promised anything but followed her mother-in-law anyways and did the right thing. She didn't give up. Ruth put her hope in the Lord when she couldn't do it on her own. Everyone always has some sort of burden. No ones life is completely 100% stress free. It's too hard to try and deal with everything on your own. From personal experience, trying to do things on your own can lead to overwhelming stress that will make you sick. Look at Ruth's example. See how she didn't give up or be to independent, but relied on God.
One of the most popular things a Christian says to a fellow Christian during times of distress is "God won't give you more than you can handle." Honestly, I disagree with this. God NEVER said He wouldn't give you more than you can handle. When it rains, it pours. One bad thing happens after another and you get this rain-and-pour syndrome. What do YOU do when you have this syndrome? Do you fall to your knees and cry out to God? God will give you more than you can handle, but He will always provide a way of escape. When you're going through times of distress, He is there at the ready. He is waiting for you to cry out to Him in your time of need. He is always there watching over you. Even if you don't hear Him or see Him right away, that doesn't mean He will never come to your aid or that He isn't there. Because He is there. Waiting for you. I believe He gives you more than you can handle because when you can't deal with everything anymore, you look for a way of escape. Usually, that is when most people rely on God. Maybe He gives you more than you can handle so you realize that you don't need to do everything on your own. So when you're at the point where you think you can't take anymore, call on Him. What do you have to lose?
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