Today on the verdict with Pastor John Monroe. Gods. Is always at work in your life for your good. Even when his smile is hidden.
Now I realize when his smile is hidden, That's difficult. But I want to remind you, with all of the authority of Scripture, that God is always at work in your life, even When his smile is hidden. Welcome to the verdict, featuring the Bible teaching of Pastor John Monroe. Have you ever felt cut off from the goodness of God? Perhaps you received some unexpected bad news.
or maybe you've been stuck in a difficult situation for some time. When life gets hard, and God seems nowhere to be found. What do we do? Today on the verdict, we're exploring the answer as we dig deeper into the book of Ruth.
Now, here's Pastor John Monroe. Our world can be a difficult and dark place. Every day there seems to be some terrible tragedy or discouraging headline. but often the most challenging circumstances are very personal. A serious conflict.
A health issue within your family. A personal crisis stemming from loneliness, abuse, depression or grief. You may be going through one of the most difficult times in your life right now. or you may know someone who is. Where is God during all this tragedy?
Why does he allow suffering and evil into our world? Does he care? These are some of the most difficult questions in life. Today. Let's take an honest and unflinching look at these questions.
as we continue our study. Ruth and Naomi make their way back. to Naomi's home in Bethlehem. Jill. I've changed the name.
I was a nurse who started attending the church I previously pastored. On several occasions, she sat in my church office asking Penetrating questions about God, the Bible. the meaning of life and salvation. She had many, many questions. Her husband years ago had made some kind of profession of faith in Jesus Christ, but over the years had wandered.
Away. And in God's grace, Jill, Came to a saving knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ and her husband. was spiritually restored. They had been married for some time, for several years, but had no children, and both of them. Desperately wanted a child, and so we began to pray to that end.
And how excited all of us were when we heard. that Jill and Jeffrey were expecting. A child. One evening when I was working in the yard at home, Goodney, My wife shouted to me to say that I must go immediately to one of the hospitals in town. A baby girl had been born to Jill and Geoffrey, but there was.
A problem. This beautiful little girl was externally Perfect, but we were told by the doctors that there were deep, deep. problems and concerns. We cried out It's of the Lord. The days passed and then the doctors told Geoffrey and Jill that their baby girl would not.
survive. They were never even allowed to hold Their tiny daughter until the final hour or two of her brief life of three weeks. And there we sat in the hospital room. Jill Holding her little a baby girl for the first time. Her husband Geoffrey, a nurse.
and myself. And we sat there. for two or three hours and then Eternity intersected with time. and that little girl's brief life on earth was over. What?
devastation what Tragedy. Here was a couple, young in their faith in Jesus Christ, facing one of life's deepest. problems. In the following weeks, I continued to minister to this young couple, and one day Jill Came to my office at church and said that as they were unable to have another child of their own, they were seriously thinking about adopting. a child, and so we talked and prayed about that.
Sometime later Jill and Jeffrey told me that the doctor who had supervised Jill's pregnancy, a very compassionate man, Said that a young woman, a patient of his, was pregnant and was willing for her child to be given up to. adoption and Jill and Geoffrey were delighted and prepared to welcome this new life. this little boy into their home. When the boy was only two days, two or three days old, This little boy was placed in the home of Geoffrey and Jill, and how. We rejoiced.
I remember Goody and I going to their home, praying with them, giving thanks to God for this. little boy. But within less than a week I received a An urgent call asking me to come immediately to their home. The child's natural grandparents now wanted The baby. It looked as if the baby would be returned to his natural mother, who, on the encouragement of her parents felt that they should look after this little boy.
These were unbelievable circumstances for all of us. Here was tragedy upon tragedy. And once again, I find myself standing before this couple, Jill and Jeffrey, and as we hugged and cried, Jill then stood back from me and said, John, Don't speak to me about God. I don't want to hear anything. anything about him.
Life was cruel, harsh. Unfair tragic. The bitterness of life was being experienced in full force by this young couple. The little boy they wished to adopt must return to his natural mother. For this couple The smile of God.
was hidden.
Some of you here have tasted of that deep, deep well of bitterness. of tragedy. of heartache. As some of you know very well, when I speak of God's smile being hidden, you understand it, you've experienced it. That's our subject this morning, when God's smile.
It's hidden. Two weeks ago, we began our study in this little book tucked away in the Old Testament, this little book of Ruth, only four chapters, about events which happened about three millennia ago, but which portray situations and circumstances right up to date. We have been learning about a woman called Naomi. A woman from the town of Bethlehem who marries a man called Elimelech, and they have two sons, Malan and Killian. And when famine comes to Israel, Elimelech, the husband and father, decides to move to Moab.
a foreign country, a pagan country. worshiping a false god. His intention was not to stay there permanently, but to be there for some time and to return home back to Bethlehem, which means house of bread, to go back to Bethlehem when circumstances were better. And although Elimelech His name means My God is king, it seems that he didn't consult. with the King of Kings.
before making that journey to Moab. with his wife. and boys. The setting of the book of Ruth, it says in chapter 1, verse 1, was at the time of the judges. The preceding book and the last verse in the book of Judges says that There was no king in Israel, and everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
Sounds good. Familiar. Everyone did, as we would say, did their own thing. Trying to escape problems in Israel. Tragedy strikes this family in Moab.
As they leave Israel And all they knew, and go to Moab, tragedy strikes. First of all, Elimelech dies, and Naomi is left. With her two sons. Des Not surprisingly, they marry Not Those of the Jewish faith, but they marry pagans, they marry Mobitesses. Then tragedy strikes again her two sons.
Now die. This woman, Naomi, can you try to enter into her experience is left alone. In a hopeless, desperate and totally unenviable position, a widow. Her husband and her sons dead. no means of support, and she's in a pagan.
Society. She says, as we thought of last week in verse 13 of chapter 1, it is more bitter for me. than for you, because the Lord's hand has gone out. against me. Let me ask you, how do you react?
When you find yourself and such Tragic circumstances, as some of you have found yourselves, when life seems unfair. when life seems unjust, when life even may seem very cruel. Is there a God? If there is a God, does he care? Does he really love me?
If there is a God, surely He is not really a God who's in control, because if God were in control and if God were all powerful, He would never have allowed this to come into my life and into the life of my family and friends. How could God possibly allow this to happen? Let's continue this fascinating story and invite you to open your Bibles again to Ruth chapter 1. And we're going to read the last verses of Ruth chapter 1, verses 19 through 22, and learn from this fascinating story about life when God's smile is hidden.
Now, this is not an easy lesson for us. This is not an easy little upbeat message, but it's a very, very important one. It's a heavy message, as it were, but one that all of us need to learn if we want our faith not just to be lived superficially, but our faith to be deep. and this great God. Ruth chapter one then, verse nineteen.
So they both went until they came to Bethlehem. And it came about when they had come to Bethlehem that all the city was stirred because of them. The woman said Is this Naomi? And she said to them, Do not call me Naome, call me Mara. for the Almighty Shadai for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.
I went out full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the Lord has witnessed against me and the Almighty has afflicted me?
So Naomi returned and with her Ruth the Mobites, her daughter-in-law, who returned from the land of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem. At the beginning, of barley. harvest. I want you to understand this: that hidden behind the tragedies, God.
Is smiling. On Naomi. And Ruth. They don't realize that, but God really is smiling on them. Naomi and Ruth travel the approximately 60, 70 miles.
from Moor up to Bethlehem.
Now seventy miles is nothing to us, but we drive. They don't have a car. They do not have a four wheel SUV. Let me remind you that They are walking. Alone these two Widows.
And when they arrive in Bethlehem, Naomi must have experienced a flood of memories and emotions when she arrived back in the place. She'd been away for over ten years. If you're from a village or from a small town, you understand something of that emotion, don't you, when you've been away for a few years and you go back to a place that you know so very well. There is a flood of emotions. Coming into your soul.
Bethlehem was the town. Where she was born. where she'd grown up, where she'd met Elimelech, where her sons had been born. There was a very house The very place where her sons were born. This was the very spot where she had married.
her husband's This is where it had begun all those years ago when famine had come. And Naomi would never forget that day, that memorable day when Elimelech had said, We're going to leave here and we're going to go to Moab. We're going to get away from the famine. Oh, we'll be back sometime, but we're going to go. And so she.
with her husband by her side and her two boys, Marlon and Killian, had made that long journey from Bethlehem. to Maub. And now after all of these years, she's back. She's back in Bethlehem. She's back home.
Verse 19 says In my translation, the New American Standard Version, all the city was stirred because of them. The place was buzzing. There's no telephones, there's no email, there's no cell phones. You don't need them in Bethlehem, it's not that big. In a few moments Everyone in Bethlehem knows Can you imagine this?
Naomi. is back And Taran but The woman asks, Is this really Naomi? Are you see the years of the heartache? The hard times, the bereavement, the sorrow, the tragedy must have all taken a physical and emotional toll. on the OME.
She had left vibrant Her husband and sons at her side. But she returns. A widow. She returns Childless. No.
grandchildren. Her step is slower, it's wearier. Her face, possibly wrinkled, her hair Probably now grey. And the women say, Is this really Naomi?
Now Naomi is replying in verses twenty and twenty one It's a very significant reply. We're going to look at a little detail here. It really has three aspects. First she says, verse twenty, don't call me Naomi, call me Mara. For the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me, or has made my life very Better.
You understand what she's saying. In those days, when you were given a name, you were given a name for a reason. And uh her parents had given this little girl when she was born this wonderful name, Naomi, which means pleasant, it means delightful. A great name. to be called pleasant A delightful person is Naomi, but she's saying, now that's totally inappropriate.
Don't call me pleasant. Don't call me delightful. Because since she left Bethlehem, life had been far from delightful, far from pleasant. No, she says, call me Mara. That's better.
Because she's tasted of the bitterness. of life.
Now, as I said last week, a lot of commentators are very critical of Naomi. But I think we need to distinguish between going through bitter circumstances and being bitter against the Lord. It is true, Naomi may well have had some bitterness against the Lord. That would be very understandable, but I, for one, admire this woman's honesty and her authenticity. You know, the Bible is reality Bible.
We hear about reality TV. I'm glad we've got a Bible that is real. and presents People As they really are, with their struggles, with their heartache, yes, with their sins and their failures. But this is a real woman. There are Christians that always seem to come out with the sentimental, pseudo-spiritual kind of sugary cliché in the midst of people's suffering, giving the impression that life and the Christian life is always upbeat and we've always got to be saying, isn't life wonderful?
And with the rest of us think, what kind of world are you living in? Because life isn't always Wonderful. we who are pastors No that. No life. is often very, very Tough.
And Naomi is a woman of authentic faith. She's real. The reality is that the Lord's hand has gone forth against her. Her life has been very painful. She's experienced famine.
migration to a foreign land Poverty and bereavement, not only of her Husband, but of our two sons. Can you imagine that? For most of us, it's unthinkable. But the fact that the circumstances of her life Have been bitter doesn't necessarily mean that her heart is bitter against God. Would she have questioned God?
Undoubtedly, who wouldn't have? Would there have been times of self-pity and bitterness? I'm sure. But in our new lives, now back at Bethlehem, She wants people to know That the Lord has been at work in her life. through these bidder Experiences.
Now, secondly, she says, verse 21: I went out full, but the Lord has brought me back. Empty. And when she left Bethlehem to go to Moab, life seemed full. Uh her husbands and their sons are their sides. That's what a mother wants.
That's what a wife wants. To have her family around her, full of hope, dreams, and plans her husband is saying. We'll be there for some time. We'll get plenty to eat, and when things improve, we'll come back to Bethlehem. Uh that sounded pretty nice.
She had three men at her side to provide for her, to protect her. Ah, but she returns. empty. Her husband Their two boys are buried. and more bite graves.
She's a widow. At least middle-aged. No prospects. of remarriage. All of the usual means of support have been stripped from her.
What's going to happen to her now that she's back in Bethlehem? She left full, but she returns empty, but she has not abandoned her faith. She acknowledges that the Lord The Lord has Yeah, I think it's a very good idea. Back. Third, she says at the end of verse twenty one, The Lord has witnessed against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me.
I find it very wonderful that in all three parts of her reply she mentions The Lord. Yahweh, the covenant-keeping personal God. It was the Lord who brought her back. Yes, in her emptiness, but he'd brought her back to her home, to her people above all. To our Lord.
He is also the Almighty. He is El Shaddai Almighty, the Almighty God whose power is irresistible. She understands that. That there are circumstances in life which are totally out of our control, but behind them all is El Shaddai. the Almighty God.
The one whose power none of us is able to resist. And she knows that this all powerful God. has been at work in her life. and has brought her back. Home.
God. has not let her go. She knows that the Almighty is using these bitter circumstances of her life. famine, poverty and bereavement. to bring her back to Bethlehem.
The House of Breads, the place. Of blessing. And don't fail to note the last sentence in Ruth chapter 1. It is key. And they came to Bethlehem.
at the beginning. of barley Harvest. Ruth 1 begins with a famine, it ends with a harvest. It is the time of the barley, plural word in Hebrew. It's time for the barley harvest.
It's the first harvest of the year around April and May. A few weeks later, it's going to be followed by the wheat harvest. There's going to be plenty of food in Bethlehem. The Lord is going to bless abundantly these two women of faith, Naomi. And Ruth.
God's smile, although perhaps hidden, is still on them. The Lord is at work. In the lives of Naomi and Ruth. They are moving. From emptiness.
to fullness as we'll see in the unfolding. of this Brilliant story. of Ruth.
Now some of you, as I say, have gone through and are going through presently bitter excruciatingly painful circumstances and events in your life. Ill health. problem marriages, unemployment, personal crises, loneliness, abuse abandonment Broken relationships, all kinds of painful experiences come into our lives.
Some circumstances are totally out of our control.
Some of the circumstances may be caused by those close to us, a spouse, a parent, a A child, a friend.
Sometimes we're in difficult circumstances. because we personally make Foolish. decisions. But here is this morning's lesson. God is always at work in your life for your good.
Even when his smile It's hidden.
Now I realize when his smile is hidden That is difficult. to understand and certainly difficult to experience. But I want to remind you, with all of the authority of Scripture, that God is always at work in your life. For your good. Even is hidden.
God is always at work in our lives through the better experiences of life. He is always at work for our good. In the dark, In the tragedy, in the disappointment, in the pain, in the heartache of life, in the bitter circumstances of life, God. Our great God, our almighty God that we've been singing about, God is always there, even when His smile is hidden. He works for For good.
For those Who love him? Therefore, trust him. Trust him with all of your heart. Believing that the events and circumstances of our life, however difficult, however bitter, are not meaningless, are not random. They're not the result of chance, they're not the result of impersonal forces or fate, not at all.
May we be like Naomi and recognize That the Lord The Lord is at work. She recognizes that the Almighty is not against her for evil, but the Almighty is not only with her, he is for her, and he's working everything for her good. This is the verdict with Pastor John Monroe. Today's message is titled, When God's Smile is Hidden. and we'll get to the second half when we come back next time.
In the meantime, feel free to visit our website at the verdict.org. There you'll see that we have a special listening guide now available for our current study in Ruth. In this insightful workbook that John has put together, you'll be able to follow along with the key points and real life application of every lesson we cover in the Book of Ruth. John provides practical guidance to help you make the most of this relevant study.
So, download your free copy of the Ruth Listening Guide today by visiting us online at theverdict.org. And while you're on our website, you'll have the opportunity to play a part in what God is doing through the verdict with a simple one-time donation of any amount. Your support will help us share God's word with new listeners in your community and across the world. You can easily give whatever amount you feel led to by visiting theverdict.org. The verdict is a ministry of Calvary Church in South Charlotte.
were located on the corner of Highway 51 and Ray Road. If you've been looking for a church home or a community to help you grow in your walk with Christ, We invite you to join us this coming Sunday. We'd love to meet you and learn more about you. For more details about Calvary and our current service times, visit theverdict.org.
Now, here's pastor John Monroe.
Well, what's your verdict? Think of a time when God's smile was hidden in your life. How did you react? How would you react today? Would you see him at work in your life?
Naomi's story is real. It's full of pain and suffering and hardship. just as our lives are challenging today. But the Lord is still at work in your life. just as he was at work, in the Yomis.
And we must trust him. even when it's difficult. Join me next time as we continue to think of the providence of God. Thanks for joining us today on The Verdict. I'm Michelle Davies.
Today's program with Pastor John Monroe was produced and sponsored by Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
