In cars, the gas tank sensor will detect how much fuel is left. When you're driving with the indicator on empty,
you say, "I'm running on empty."
You know, this also applied to people.
If you are exhausted and feel like you can't go on much longer, you can say, "I'm running on empty."
Beloved, I'm sure many of you like myself know how it feels to run on empty in life. Bad relationships, children, family, work, or friends can be exhausting.
Life situations at times seem to drain all our energy. Dreams and
unmet dreams or expectations can drain your energy level also.
There are times our energy level is so depleted thinking about replenishing our life's tank is arduous.
Lately, I’ve been spending some time reflecting on my life and how it’s turned out so far. I can think back upon the dreams for my life that I had in my youth, and I can safely say that very few of them have survived the passage of the years. And maybe you can relate to that as well.
There are shattered dreams, and broken hopes, and unmet expectations that litter the years of our lives. Now that doesn’t necessarily mean that life hasn’t been good. It also doesn’t mean that new dreams haven’t been reached for and attained, nor does it mean we need to live with sorrow today because we regret the past either.
But it does mean that there have been times of sorrow and sadness, times of deep questioning and searching, times of hurt and anger, and maybe even bitterness or despair that have left their mark upon our lives.
Beloved, I think Naomi could probably relate to some of that. Life indeed had not turned out like she had hoped it would. Her life, in many ways, had been burdensome, full of shattered dreams and disappointments, not to mention heartache and loss. Bit by bit, everything she had held on to and put her happiness and joy into she lost.
Now allow me to give you a little backdrop here: The famine led them to leave their home in Bethlehem, part with family and friends and all things familiar, and go to a foreign land where they did not know God.
In that land of Moab, her husband would pass away, leaving Naomi to raise their two sons alone.
Things looked up as they grew into men, met the young women who would become their wives, and got married. It was a chance for Naomi to live again, to enjoy getting to know her daughters-in-law, to anticipate the arrival of grandchildren, to know that her children would care for her in her old age.
Yet all those dreams are shattered. That's because Naomi's sons meet their end in the land of Moab just as their father had.
Once again, Beloved, Naomi is left, in many ways alone, and without hope for the future. Life goes on, but she's running on empty. There seems to be nothing left to give and nothing left to live for. And maybe you can relate because you've been there too; perhaps you are even in that place today. You feel like giving up, but you keep pressing on even though you are running on empty.
Life in Moab, while it once seemed to promise so much, has, in the end, become very bitter for Naomi. She has hit bottom, reached the lowest of the lows, and it's when she's in that deep midnight hour of the soul that she decides to head home, to return to Judah, the place of praise.
It's from out of that dark space that she begins the journey back to God, but she doesn't walk that road alone; Ruth will walk it with her, and that's where we pick up their story this morning, Ruth, chapter 1, beginning in verse 19.
*19 So Naomi and Ruth went on until they came to the town of Bethlehem. When they entered Bethlehem,
all the people became very excited. The women of the town said, "Is this really Naomi?" *20 Naomi answered the people. "Don't call me Naomi. Call me Mara because the Almighty has made my life very sad.
*21 When I left, I had all I wanted, but now, the Lord has brought me home with nothing. Why should you call me Naomi when the Lord has spoken against me, and the Almighty has given me so much trouble?" *22 So Naomi and her daughter-in-law Ruth, the Moabite, returned from Moab and arrived at Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.
Now let's look at their journey.
The journey back would have been difficult for two women traveling alone. It would take them some 7-10 days of solid travel to reach their destination. And along the way, they would have to cross the Jordan River and climb from the plains of Moab, which is some 2000 feet in height, to reach Bethlehem.
Beloved, the truth is that's when we've been in our Moab; the road back home is not always easy. There will be obstacles; there may be opposition from those closest to us, you may wonder along the way if it's worth it, you may be tempted to stop short, but it's a journey that you need to complete if you're ever to return home to that place of praise and a renewed fellowship with God.
And so Beloved, Naomi, and Ruth come to Bethlehem. Now the townsfolk have never met Ruth, but they knew Naomi many years back. Some of the women in town recognize her; at least they think they do. The woman they see bears a passing resemblance to the Naomi they remember so well, but there have been definite changes, so many so that they're not sure.
Friends, let me tell you, you will find that your break, vacation, or your rest period in Moab has left a mark on your soul, on your heart, one that you would, if you could do it all again, choose to forgo. And yet, having been tarnished by the experience, the need is to find healing, to have the wounds bandaged up, to have that which is broken, mended, and made whole, and that's only possible as that journey back to God is completed.
You got to complete the journey!
Now say, "I GOT TO COMPLETE THE JOURNEY!!!"
Friends, there will be no healing, no wounds bandaged up, nor will anything broken be mended and made whole until you too COMPLETE THE JOURNEY.
Beloved, Scripture tells us that their arrival stirs up the whole town. Naomi has come home!!! But where is her husband? Where are her sons? Who is this young woman that she's traveling with?
The answers become more evident to them as Naomi responds. She says, "Don't call me Naomi, for "Naomi" is a name that means "pleasant," and my life has been anything but pleasant. Instead call me, "Mara," for "Mara" means "bitter," and the Almighty has made my life very bitter."
Beloved, when we choose to turn away from God and go to live in Moab, the chances are that what seems so sweet at the time will come to be bitter with the passing of the years. (Repeat This).
It certainly has touched Naomi's life in such away. The name she chooses for God reveals her theology; you see, theology is just how she thinks of and understands God. Friends, believe it or not, you have a theology that's at play in your life as well. Now I'm sure someone out there is asking: Bishop Houston, what are you talking about? - Well, I’m glad you asked.
Friends, as you seek to live out your faith, your theology shapes how you understand not just God's character but His plans and His purposes and the way He interacts with the world in which we live.
Naomi's theology goes deep. Her understanding of God is not shallow nor superficial. She has an extensive view of God!!! And it's essential that God's people
have a comprehensive idea of God today as well.
Beloved, we will miss out on what God is doing,
what He's seeking to accomplish in and through our lives. We'll fail to see His hand at work in the moments of each day, and our faith and our witness will become subordinate.
Job, and Naomi, both have an extensive view of God.
They were willing to accept both good and hardship
from the hand of the Lord.
Friends, a weak faith, a shallow theology, only accept good.
*How deep is your theology?
*How big is your view of God?
Beloved, can you say, as Job did in the most challenging moments of his life, "The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised." (Job 1:21b, NIV)
If we cannot, our view of God is not big enough;
our theology is misinformed. We need to get deep into God's word, wrestle through the complicated truths,
and see God in the midst of them, that we emerge on the other end with a transformed theology
and a more prosperous, more accurate understanding of who God is.
Naomi refers to God as the "Almighty." It's a word that conveys the ideas of power and authority, but in Hebrew, the connotations are even richer than that.
To the Hebrews, it's a word that carries the idea of an all-consuming power that cannot be resisted. It conveys both the concept of a power that can injure and one that can protect; a power that's all-sufficient in its strength and irresistible in its expression.
Naomi doesn't see herself as a victim of misfortune alone, or circumstances, nor of sad coincidence.
In Naomi's theology, all of life is in God's hands. He cannot be separated from the moments of each day
and cannot be kept in compartments of our own making. If God decides to send bitterness into her life,
then it's bitterness that she will know!!!
She says, "I went away full," "but the Lord has brought me back empty."
When Naomi left Bethlehem so long ago, she had pretty much everything that she had longed for, a husband and sons and bright dreams for the future.
When she comes home, some ten years later, it's all been lost to her. But now, notice the words that Naomi has chosen to use to describe her life.
She doesn't say, "God sent me out from Bethlehem," nor does she say, "I went to the place where God called me to go." She doesn't say,
"I went with God's blessing," nor does she say that "God went with me," But what she does says,
"I went away full."
Beloved, she and her family made a choice; when the going got tough, to turn away from God and to find satisfaction and peace and hope in the land of Moab. As best we can tell, they went without God's blessing.
Beloved, what they did, they did on their own. And you know friends? That's always the danger for us as well. that we will walk through doors that the Lord has not opened, that we will lose sight of God, and run to the world in our times of need, or even in our times of plenty.
Beloved, our temptation is always to ask God to bless the thing (s) we are doing, when the prayer of our hearts would be better poured out, on the things we should be doing which God is choosing to bless.
Do you see the difference?
The one starts in our hearts with our desires, longings, fears, and plans. Our agenda seats itself in position against God's word that tells us our self-positioning is "deceitful above all things" (Jeremiah 17:9, NIV) - The other finds its beginning in God. The first one often leads to bitterness, emptiness, and fruitlessness, while the other often leads to something so much more
than we could ever ask or imagine!!!
So, before you take that new job before you ask that girl to marry you before you respond "yes," or "no," seek the heart of God!!!
Friends, consider whether the plans you're making with your life are pleasing in God's sight or just good to your hearts.
*Are the things you're giving yourself to, doing yourself in, or
*Are they in line with God's purposes?
*Do they have any kingdom value in them?
*In what way do they honor God?
*How will your decisions bring you and your family
into a deeper, closer, more vibrant relationship with Him?
Beloved, consider whether those same choices will draw you closer to God, or, if you will, one day say as Naomi said, "I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty."
And you know beloved, yet even in those words, we find a ray of hope. Naomi and her family went out on their own, but it's the Lord who brought her back.
Naomi recognizes this!!! The last decade may have been a harsh teacher, but Naomi has learned. She has discovered that while they may have forsaken God, God had not forsaken them!!!
He may have disciplined them and punished them harshly even, but it comes from a heart of love, a desire that they would turn once again to God and find life in Him.
Naomi says, "God has brought me back empty."
none-the-less, people, the point remains that
God has brought her back!!!
There may be someone asking: Bishop Houston, what did God bring her back to? Again, a great question, and I'm glad you ask!!! :-D
God brought Naomi back to the House of Bread,
in the place of Praise.
*Back to her people.
*Back to His people.
Friends, God has done in her life, what was needed to turn her heart back to Him so that He might bring her to a place of healing, and energy, and renewed hope.
(Romans 8:35–39, NIV84)
The apostle Paul writes these words, as he asks,
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or
famine or nakedness or danger or sword? …
No, in all these things, we are more than conquerors
through Him who loved us.
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
People, if God had not done all that God had done in Naomi’s life, she never would have left Moab.
She would never have come home.
But God’s love for her had not failed, and He had not forgotten her. And like parents, who must do the hard things in the life of their children, so that their children may know a good and godly life, so too does God seek to do those things in our lives that are ultimately for our good as well.
Beloved, God may have to empty your hands to fill them with something so much better. Naomi can’t see it just yet, but that’s precisely what God is going to do for her.
Though she acknowledges that it’s God who has brought her home, she is still wrapped up in her bitterness.
Let me tell you, friends, bitterness twists our perspective. It colors our perception of the world around us.
She says that “the Lord has afflicted,”
her and that the “Almighty has brought misfortune upon,” her. And yes, the Lord’s hand has been in it.
He is the “Almighty,” and while Naomi has experienced the discipline side of His irresistible power, she cannot yet see how that same power is at work now to protect her, to bring healing to a shattered heart, and fullness to emptied hands.
Beloved, she looks into the future and sees nothing but darkness. That’s because bitterness and sorrow
have twisted her perception of reality.
You know friends, that tends to happen to us as well
when we find ourselves in that long, midnight hour of the soul.
But in reality, things are not as dark as Naomi has imagined them to be. Why do I say that?
I say that because God is still at work!!!
Beloved, what you have heard this morning is
how God has brought Naomi home to the place of praise and plenty. He could have brought her back at any time of the year, but He didn’t. He chose to have her come home at the one time of year when she would have hope for survival.
He brought her back at the beginning of the barley harvest, which meant that there would be both food and work available so that she and Ruth could survive,
and not just survive, but prosper!!!
And even more critical beloved, God did not bring her back alone. Ruth, a stranger to the ways of God, but a daughter-in-law of fantastic character, has come home with her. And from this point on, the story will be less about Naomi, more about Ruth and how God will deal with her. And yet it’s through this young woman
that God will richly bless Naomi as well.
Beloved, in Hebrew his is called “hesed” – hesed is a Hebrew word that means “loving kindness.”
Hesed:
It’s what Naomi prayed that God would show to her daughter’s-in-law as she planned to return to Judah all alone. In (Ruth 1:8) she says to them, “Go back, each of you, to your mother’s home. May the LORD show kindness to you, as you have shown to your dead and to me.”
And it’s this “hesed” this loving-kindness
that both Naomi and Ruth are going to experience in God’s own hands.
Friends, when we find ourselves in that long, midnight hour of the soul, may we have eyes to see, the head of God.
Beloved, God’s loving-kindness is at work even in the darkest moments of our lives. And though we may have lost much, and though we may feel that we’re returning,
and running, on empty, may we have the clarity to see,
and to know that God has not forsaken us.
Friends, may we have the eyes to see what Naomi didn’t see. I’m speaking of the goodness and provision
and love, of God.
Friends, don’t ever believe the lie, that the sins,
and shame and darkness of your past, in any way, shape, or form, mean that there is no hope for your future.
Maybe you went to Moab for just a little while, as Elimelech and Naomi did, but now it’s been years and
you’re wondering if you can ever come home.
The answer is “Yes!” Yes, you can come home.
And maybe you’re plagued with guilt and shame about choices you have made in the past, and you’re wondering if God could ever love you, forgive you,
and grant a future to you with Him?
Beloved, again, the answer is “Yes!”
And maybe you’re crying out, as Naomi did,
that you went out full, but God has brought you back empty. And perhaps you’re wondering if there’s any point in going on, any hope that things could ever possibly get better.
Beloved, in Christ, the answer is a resounding,
“Yes!!!” And you know, friends, chances are that if God has brought you back feeling empty, that you are not empty after all.
Ask Him to open your eyes to His hesed – His loving-kindness being shown to you. And it might just be that you discover that there is a “Ruth” in your life and a “barley harvest” just around the corner that will be the source of God’s rich blessing to you!!!
Friends, God, who is the Almighty, is willing and able,
to turn even His most profound judgments into greater joys.
