"From Desperation To Restoration“

Did you ever feel like there was no way out of what you were living or are living now?

At times situations in our lives are so overwhelming we feel desperate and we can't see the way out. Hopelessness sets in we begin to have negative thoughts about what is happening around us. Today I want to share with you that it is not hopeless that your desperation is a testing of how we are going to react or respond to the mess in front of us! At times we have walked into a room that maybe our children were playing in and all of a sudden there it is a total mess! Our first reaction is to scream or yell out to the kids why have you done this look at the mess you have made! Then we step back and take a deep breath and get a hold of ourselves looking at the mess and take action to clean it up! So here is my question to you, situations in our lives as women are very similar to this analogy it seems like a mess in front of us and we are looking at it with the wrong set of glasses. We seem to think that it cannot be changed or resolved that it is the end of the tunnel and no hope for change. The Lord looks at us and He wants us to see beyond the mess or situation we are facing. Our attitude and our reaction is going to determine the solution to this mess. It might be your marriage or it might be a work related situation or a relationship. Whatever it is God knows how to bring us the solution and the restoration. He has all that we need to be able to overcome the desperate place we are in. In the scriptures there are a lot of stories about people being in those desperate places, not knowing what to do how to handle the mess that they were in. We need to get ourselves in that place where we look beyond the mess at hand and look to one that is able to give us the solution.

Ruth Chapter 1 to 4

The story of Ruth and Naomi speaks volumes to me how these two women were facing a desperate situation. The story of Ruth opens with the author describing the situation of one particular family. Elimelech,his wife Naomi, and their two sons leave Bethlehem and move to the region of Moab because of famine.

They are in search of food. While in Moab, Elimelech dies. The two sons take Moabite

women as wives, can’t produce children, and die young. This leaves Naomi and her daughters-in- law (Ruth and Orpah). All three women are widows, and Naomi is in a foreign country. There is no support for any of them. After hearing that the famine in Bethlehem had ended, Naomi decides to go back home. She strongly encourages Ruth and Orpah to go back to their families of origin in order to be cared for and to prosper in life. Orpah turns back, but Ruth continues with Naomi. And for the rest of the story we are told of how life turns out for Naomi and Ruth when they are back in Bethlehem.The tragic experiences of Naomi and her family are shown to be part of God’s overall redemptive plan for the world. In a matter of months, it seems, Ruth is married to a man named Boaz and the family is restored economically and socially.

Ruth soon enough births a son who will be the grandfather of King David. And knowing the bible as you do, I suspect you are aware that in only a matter of centuries another young woman, Mary, will also birth a son in the exact same village. This son of Mary is part of this very family line and will be known as the Son of God, redeemer of the world.

When the story of Ruth begins, no one sees this coming. But in retrospect, we see God’s sovereign hand, his active care for his people, working through tragedy in order to bring triumph.

Yet, the result of this book isn’t just a romantic happy ending between Ruth and Boaz. Because of

their continued lineage, the book of Ruth is a critical part of the grandest narrative of all, a narrative

that leads to the happiest ending of all: Jesus dead and raised. And it portrays a picture of God’s

divine action through the ordinary lives and events of people. He is there working in our lives and he is there working in the lives of others. Even in our tragedies and moments of desperation God alway and will always intervene making a way out for us restoring what was taken from us! I felt to call this blog from Desperation to restoration because this beautiful story of Ruth tells us that it was restored to her all that she lost and more! I have had my share of desperate times but I can testify that God has always come through for me and when He did He restored more than I could imagine! If that is you today set your heart and face to GOD allow Him to intervene in your mess ore situation giving Him opportunity to show you that He is faithful yesterday, today, and forever! “I will turn their mourning into joy” (Jeremiah 31:13). AMEN! So rejoice your sorrow will be turned into joy!

Pastor Mary Di Paolo Nero