Courage That Clings

Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung to her.   Ruth 1:14

I am reading through the book of Ruth with a dear friend and I was reminded this morning of why this beautiful story is one of my favorites.  It seems as if every time I read this account of a few seemingly ordinary women, God shows me something new; some brand new beautiful picture of His tender and unending love.

Here’s the background:  Elimelek and Naomi, along with their sons, relocate to the foreign land of Moab when famine strikes Bethlehem, their home town.  Though only seeking a temporary refuge, they stay ten years- long enough for life to completely fall apart.  Naomi loses her husband and is left with her two sons, who both marry Moabite women.  Then tragedy strikes a second time and both sons pass away.  Naomi’s sons, in the time they had settled in Moab, had married two Moabite women.  So the story shifts very quickly to these three widows, who find themselves in the most desperate and destitute situation imaginable.

I was drawn this time to the names of the two women whom God brings into Naomi’s life: Orpah and Ruth.  Orpah means ‘gazelle’ and is derived from the root word oreph, which means ‘stiffnecked.’  Ruth means ‘friendship.’ Little did I know that the meaning of their names plays an integral role in how this story unfolds.

When Naomi hears that God has provided for her people back home, she sets out on a ten day journey with both of her daughters-in-law.  Not too far into the journey, though, Naomi urges Orpah and Ruth to go back to their homeland and their families and their gods.  Though it is clear to see that both women loved their mother-in-law dearly, this story shows two totally different courses of action. 

All three women “wept aloud” not once, but twice, as I’m sure it was incredibly painful to part ways after all they had been through together.  Here’s what each woman did next:

                Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung to her. Ruth 1:14

One leaves, the other cleaves.  One turns back, the other turns towards the unknown and unfamiliar choosing to follow.  Oh, how I wish I could only identify with Ruth, but I have stood where sweet Orpah was standing, too!  I have loved Jesus from afar, willing to trust Him when life was easy, when life was good.  But the moment it got tough, the moment my famine struck, I wanted to turn my back on Him and kiss Him goodbye. 

I was angry and felt entitled to the “good life” that surely my “good God” was able to give me.  It would have been easier to say goodbye and turn my back.  It would have been the safe route- to go back to the predictable, the routine, the life that revolved around me.  It would have been far more comfortable to go back to the old life instead of trusting God with the unknowns which were anything but unknown to Him. 

Choosing to cling to Him during my famine, trusting Him through the pain of losing something so precious to me, and believing that He is good even if life is not good completely changed my world.  What Jesus taught me was that His ways are so much higher and so much greater.  Every single ounce of pain I felt was cultivated by His hand into a deeper and stronger faith- one that has absolutely nothing at all to do with what I did but everything to do with what He’s done for me. 

There is no doubt that both women in this story love their mother-in-law deeply and perhaps both even know Naomi’s God.  But only one chooses to follow and say these words:

“Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.” 

Ruth 1:16-17

Ruth knows that Naomi’s God was the one true God.  She refers to Him as Jehovah and commits to leave her entire life behind for Him.  The Hebrew word for clung is dabaq, which means “stay close, cleave, follow closely; to be joined together.”  It paints a beautiful picture of relationship- of friendship.  Clinging or cleaving to another often seems weak and even dependent, but reading further shows that it is only in our weakness that God’s strength is truly manifested. 

When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.  Ruth 1:18

This word, determined, is 'amats in the Hebrew language, and it means “to be strong, alert, courageous, brave, bold.”  The New King James Version reads that Ruth was “steadfastly minded.”  Another translation puts it this way:  “she was strong in her purpose.” 

Ruth was not alone; neither was Naomi and neither are we.  Jesus wants us to cling desperately to Him because He knows that He is our only hope for strength and courage.  He wants more than our love; He wants our friendship.  Like Orpah, we are all programmed to be stiffnecked and stubborn, ready to turn our backs at the first sign of trouble.  But there is much to be learned from Ruth’s obedience in the midst of troubling circumstances.  Not only did God provide for her a husband and a son in this new land, but she became the great-grandmother of King David, whose lineage would produce the long awaited Messiah, Jesus Christ. 

Clinging to Jesus and depending on Him for everything transforms us into people who are strong and courageous, too.

It is the Lord your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him.  Deuteronomy 13:4 

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.   Deuteronomy 31:6


*Hebrew meanings taken from STRONG’s Numbers, blueletterbible.org.

Fire

And anything else that can withstand fire must be put through the fire, and then it will be clean.  Numbers 31:23 (NIV)

When they said the cancer was back, all I could think was, This can’t be true!  My aunt was diagnosed with breast cancer four years ago.  That summer, my mom and I took a trip up north to have a girls’ week.  Instead of shopping and care-free girl talk, our time was filled with doctor appointments, weighty decisions, wig shopping, and lots of tears.  You have to know this about my aunt:  she is one tough cookie.  Years ago when a man stole her purse, she ran down the streets of New York City in her high heels… and caught him!  But that “c word” came out of the blue and threatened to steal more than her bag.  

After the surgery, the chemo and the radiation, it seemed as if it was a distant struggle; one that God would surely not ask her to walk through again.  Surely not.  New hair grew in beautifully, and that is not all that grew.  Her faith was stretched and strengthened like never before.  So God would surely not ask her to do it all over again.  Surely not.

I’ve learned that God will always answer the questions we take to Him.  Often it’s not the answer we want to hear, but answer He does.  So in the few short weeks it’s been, I’ve asked Him over and over again,  Why the same trial?  It’s not only my aunt that is facing a similar struggle.  All around me, I see this happening- even in my own life. 

After weeks of asking and praying and seeking and a whole lot more listening than I am usually capable of, I think I have some clarity.  Answers, no.  Clarity, yes.  Complete understanding, no.  Peace, yes. 

And it all has to do with fire. 

Numbers 31:23 says, “And anything else that can withstand fire must be put through the fire, and then it will be clean.”  If God calls us into a fire, it is only because He knows we can endure it.  Three men, whose story of courage and faith is beautifully scripted in the book of Daniel, knew all about being called into a fire. (See Daniel 3)  When Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, three Jews who worshipped the living God, found themselves tied up and thrown into the flames, they also found God Himself, walking around in the flames with them.   

God is actually referred to as the God who answers by fire, the one true God. (See 1 Kings 18:24)  God used a burning bush, a pillar of fire, and was found in the flame on the altar.  God knows that the fire is not to be feared, because He is in the fire. What God sees that we often cannot is that we do eventually come out of the fire.  And we are changed.

This verse not only speaks of that which can survive the fire, but it also explains what will happen to it as it emerges from the flames: “Then it will be clean.”  Other translations use the word “pure.”  The process of refining gold is one I know nothing about, but upon looking at the meaning of the word “refine,” I get a tiny glimpse of God’s hand at work.  Refine means “to bring to a fine or a pure state; make elegant; to become more fine, elegant, polished; freed from impurity.”(1) 

The only thing the fire burned all those years ago was the rope that bound the three Hebrew men.  The fire worked to free them and remove everything that held them captive.  When they walked out of the flames, nothing was burnt- not their clothes, not their shoes, not even their hair smelled of smoke.  The people who witnessed this did more than scratch their heads and say, “Well, look at that!”  This single courageous act brought an entire people to know the living God.

God only brings us into the flames so that He can refine us and then bring us out more beautiful, able to attract others to Him.  Purity, though, is a process. The refiner is the only one who can tell when the gold is ready to come out of the fire.  He waits and waits until He can look into the hot liquid and see His own reflection.(2) Refining is the process of “converting raw material into products of value.” (3) If God asks us to follow Him into the flames, it’s only because He knows we can endure it with His strength.  If God asks us to walk back into the fire, it’s only because He sees the finished product- shiny, pure, elegant, and reflecting His image.

These [trials] have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.  1 Peter 1:7 (NIV)

For everyone will be seasoned with fire, and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt.  Mark 9:49 (NKJV)

 

  

1.“refine.”  Dictionary.com Unabridged.  Random House, Inc.  07 Aug 2013. 

2. Guzik, David. “Study Guide on Numbers 31.”  Enduring Word. Blue Letter Bible. 07 Aug 2013.

3.“refinery.”  Wikipedia:  The Free Encyclopedia.  Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., 07 Aug 2013. 

Which Way is the Right Way to Eat a Lollipop?

Jake and Lilly turn three today, and I couldn't be more thrilled that God picked me to be their Momma.  There are times when I think He’s confused me with some other woman much more qualified and suited for this job, but at the end of the day, I’m so thankful it’s me. 

These two are about as different as night and day.  Recently, someone asked me what I meant by that.  I’m pretty sure these pictures explain it all.  My great big kind-hearted, generous, rule-following, strong-willed, sweet-as-sugar boy takes a rather different approach to eating a lollipop than his witty, fun-loving, think-outside-the-box, play-outside-the-box, live-outside-the-box, affectionate, dramatic and creative sister.  

He bites, sinking his tiny teeth into the sugary goodness, causing cracks and crunches that quite honestly make my own teeth ache.  After a moderate amount of chomping, he hands it back and says, “I’m done.”

She takes her sweet-Miss Daisy-time, licking in slow motion and tossing in a dramatic “Mmmmmmm” here and there for theatrical effect.  She will never, ever hand it back. Never.

Sometimes, if not for the fact that they look so much alike, I could be swayed to believe that they have nothing genetically in common.  Lilly eats just about anything we put in front of her and most nights her plate holds as much as mine does.  He eats cheese, crackers, chicken, and hot dogs.  Seriously, that’s it.  No fruit.  No veggies.  Not even a little ketchup for his hot dog or chicken.  Each time I put some new food on his plate, he quickly takes it off and politely hands it to his sister, who will most assuredly consume all of it right after expressing a sweet “Thank you, Jake” back across the table.

He naps.  She doesn’t. 

She swims at the pool.  He splashes at the pool.

I could go on and on. 

One quick glance at these two reminds me that God makes each of us so incredibly unique.  They might share a birthday, but He could not have created two more different little people than Jake and Lilly.  I absolutely love that they are so perfectly different... in a million and one ways. 

Happy Birthday to my two stink bugs!  You have brought so much color into my life!  I love you to the moon and back! Love, Momma