-- Saturday, 9/18/10 -- AFTER TRAGEDY. WHAT? Ruth 4:13-17

[J.R. & Bonnie Ricks]

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AFTER TRAGEDY… WHAT?  Ruth 4:13-17 NIV

 

So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. Then he went to her, and the LORD enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son.  The women said to Naomi: "Praise be to the LORD, who this day has not left you without a kinsman-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel!  He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth."

Then Naomi took the child, laid him in her lap and cared for him.  The women living there said, "Naomi has a son." And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.

Throughout the tragic circumstances recorded in the book of Ruth, we see one thing… Naomi’s resilience and resolve to follow God, no matter how tragic her circumstances.  Oh, she got down a little, for just a little while… Naomi was human!  Our first reaction to tragedy most times is tears and emotional agony.  But after giving in to emotion, Naomi rallied and went back to being the woman of God she’d always been.  Even in the midst of her pain, she never once turned her back on God.  In the end, God blessed her beyond her imagining.

 

There’s a lesson in this part of Naomi’s life for all of us… We will all face tragedy… it’s part of living in a fallen world.  Some of us will face more tragedy than others.  Some of us will deal with our tragedy in private.  Others – like those who lost loved ones on 9/11 – will have to deal with their tragedy in public.  But no matter what our circumstances, we all need to remember that no matter what the tragedy… no matter how devastating it may be to us personally… God will bring triumph in our lives as a result of the tragedy.  In Romans 8:28 (NIV), Paul says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

 

The next time tragedy strikes in your life, remember this verse, and remember Naomi… Don’t turn your back on God, no matter how tragic the circumstances of your life.  Not only will you be blessed, but so will all those who see you.

 

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