There are TWO basic principles in how God deals with us:
- Nothing in our lives happens by chance or accident
- God develops us over an entire lifetime
We can choose to wallow in self pity and bitter, and burdened by our baggages from the past; or to live in fear and insecurity of our future, OR to live in the NOW, which we can be in control
PAST: For the past that we cannot change, we can receive healing
God has a reason for allowing our past to be shaped that way
PRESENT: For the present that we cannot ignore, we can exercise personal responsibility
What we can learn from Ruth:
1. She took full responsibility of her situation
- The problems in our lives only becomes bigger issues when we continue to moan and groan about them
- When we learn to see outside of ourselves and to look at the bigger picture do we realise how petty our 'problems' are
- There will always be someone who are in better or worst situations than us
2. She did not complain about her situation
- What is your first reaction to the situations in your life?
- We tend to jump to conclusion before viewing the circumstances rationally
- Learn to start with our own response before we look at others; learn to be thankful for thankfulness is an attitude and a choice
- Often we want God to bless us instead of train us; we want Him to be our genie instead of our coach
- God only disciplines those he calls his children
3. She consistently displayed love for her mother-in-law and the people that she had adopted
- How many of us can say that we have consistently displayed our love for our God?
What does God do in our times of need?
- General provision
- Specific provision
FUTURE: For the future that we cannot know, we can receive hope
1. What we do today is important for the future; hence do not blame others when our future does not turn out as we would like it to be
- Choose to make good decisions today
2. The blessings that we enjoy are not so much due to our faith but rather due to God's faithfulness: We can't earn God's blessings
- We need to learn to live under God's blessings instead of living under the curse of the devil
3. The Lord blesses us more than we can ever expect
- The problem is we have a 'tunnel' view of what blessings mean
- Blessings do not necessary come in the form of wealth and power, rather the highest level of blessing is our relationship with God and the Godly legacy that we can leave behind our children
