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The Devotional Diva - Watch Out Where You Remain!
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The Devotional Diva - Watch Out Where You Remain!
By Barbara Gobbs
Executive Assistant and Ministry Partner - Pocket Full of Change Ministries
“The name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife, Naomi; and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehem in Judah. Now they entered the land of Moab and remained there.” Ruth 1:2 (NAS95)
Lately, my mind has turned to a challenge that our pastor in Denver issued several years back. One particular Sunday, Pastor John encouraged us in our personal time with God. He said everyone should read the Bible through at least once in his/her life and everyone should become an expert in at least one book of the Bible.
Now that I have finished reading the Bible from Genesis to maps, it’s time I started training to be an expert. Sorry Brother John, I am a slow reader. Actually, I have made a list of several books I’d like to be an expert in during my time left on earth. It was hard to stop at one book when I really got to thinking about this!
The book I am starting with is the Book of Ruth. Okay, it’s a short book to begin with, but it’s packed with gems I have overlooked throughout the years. Besides as a woman, I have a particular yen for Biblical books named after women. Can you guess what my next book will be?
Let me give you the nickel tour of the first five verses of Ruth. (Tip: when reading Ruth – read it like a 4 act play)
There was a famine forcing the man Elimelech, his wife Naomi and their sons named after anti-freeze, Mahlon and Chilion to leave Judah and set up housekeeping in Moab. Now Moab was not a “Christian” nation.
During their stay, the sons married and all three of the men died, leaving three childless widows to fend for themselves. Sounds like if it weren’t for bad luck, this family wouldn’t have any luck at all.
Well I haven’t reached expert status yet, but I found a few interesting discoveries that I’d like to share. I feel someone besides me may need this today.
The first thing I learned was “famine” necessitates decisions. There is nothing too scary about that. We make decisions all the time. However, during times of famine or crisis, our emotions run high. We might feel a sense of desperation, which influences our decisions. Therefore, we could find ourselves straying outside familiar godly surroundings to find a solution for our need.
The second thing I discovered is nestled in the last sentence of verse two. It states, “Now they entered the land of Moab and remained there.” I am not saying Elimelech made a bad decision, but I had to question the validity of “remaining there.”
People make decisions all the time and then remain there. When the decision is based on God’s wisdom and direction, this is a wise thing to do even when we aren’t sure of the why’s involved.
However, when the decision moves us outside of His will and then we choose to stay there, this can cause damage beyond our control. I have some “such as” examples coming so take a deep breath:
• Someone at church hurts our feelings so we quit church, remaining outside the church family.
• We loose our job and quit looking for new work, remaining unemployed.
• Our spouse leaves so we give up on all relationships, remaining alone.
• We refuse to leave the sin in our life, remaining in spiritual death.
The sad and last thing I learned just from these verses, which is only the beginning of the story, for there is certainly more to come, is that Elimelech and both sons died before ever making it back home.
Sometimes when we “remain” too long, we don’t get a chance to correct our faulty decisions regardless if they seemed right at the time. And look who was left to deal with the aftermath! When we choose to remain in a decisional place that moves us outside of what God would have for our lives, it’s not only us that suffer; those closest to us suffer as well.
Now I am not trying to reinvent or twist the Scripture. I don’t believe in such things. But I have no problem sharing what I believe God was sharing with me from my reading of the Word.
In fact, this past week, I have suffered with multiple migraines and a large amount of pain. I’ve self-medicated hoping it would go away eventually. It has not. It has been distractive to my life, my work and my ministry involvement. And believe me; my husband has suffered as well.
After reviewing the lessons I’ve just shared with you, I chose to remain no longer. I finally have called for help. I expect God will answer that call as will my doctor. Today, if you find yourself (like I did) remaining in an unwanted land – pull out the promise of James 1:5, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.”
Remaining in Him,
Barbara
Barbara Gobbs is a ministry partner with and the Executive Assistant of Pocket Full of Change Ministries. For more information, to schedule a speaker for an event, or to request a newsletter, go to www.pocketfullofchange.org or call Gail Golden, Publicist at 904 316-5462. This ministry is supported by donations. If this ministry helps you or others, and God calls you to help support this work, you can make a donation to Pocket Full of Change Ministry at POB 51205, Jacksonville Beach, Florida 32240.
© Pocket Full of Change Ministries
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