Be Careful How You Cope

The Holy Bible is a living Word.  You can read the same scripture and get a new revelation each time you read it.  The words don’t change, but you do.  As you grow and learn more as a Christian, your understanding enhances.  Our sermon recap comes from a sermon that Pastor preached at a different church.  He has preached from Ruth 1 before, but this message left me with an enhanced understanding.  Let’s get into it.

He began the sermon by saying that the book of Ruth is a book of redemption.  And not so much about Ruth’s redemption.  More so about Naomi’s redemption.  In chapter 1, Naomi’s husband, Elimelech, moves the family from Bethlehem to Moab.  Now, the name Bethlehem means “House of Bread.”  So why would they leave their home and go to a foreign land?  Well, the “house of bread” was experiencing a famine.  Elimelech wanted relief for his wife Naomi and their two sons. 

I can’t fault him for feeling a little desperate and taking action.  From a practical sense, every man wants to provide for their family.  When famines occur, our natural inclination is to do whatever is necessary to feel relief.  From a spiritual sense, we can experience famine in a number of ways.  We may be stressed from our jobs, kids, or husbands.  We have to get rid of the anxiety some way.  Maybe a little smoke here or there to take the edge off.  We might look too long at the guy lifting weights in the gym.  Just a little peek.  You know…appreciating God’s craftsmanship.  And we feel a little better.

Although Elimelech and Naomi experienced relief, it wasn’t the ultimate fix for their situation.  While still in Moab, Elimelech dies.  Naomi is in a foreign land with two children.  Instead of returning to the house of bread, Naomi remains in Moab.  Her temporary stay is extended just a while longer.  Maybe she didn’t want to take them out of the Moabite Public School System.  Perhaps her time in a foreign land made it not so foreign any longer.  Her sons grow up and take wives of their own.  And Naomi continues to remain in Moab.

We know that Naomi moved to Moab through no fault of her own.  She was seeking relief from a famine.  But over time that temporary relief became a permanent place of residency.  I’ve been there, done that, and have the t-shirt.  I had no intentions of being fat this long.  But food provides a temporary relief from the struggles of life.  I use it as a quick fix when I’m happy, sad, bored, or angry.  Just a little bit here and there has added significantly to my frame.  I allowed fleeting emotions to take up permanent residency on my body.  Naomi is not alone.  When life hit, she coped by remaining in a desolate place.

When both of her sons die, Naomi is over it.  Her place of relief has become a place of pain.  Her temporary fix has ceased to be beneficial.  She is ready to return home.  She heard that the house of bread has been replenished.  The Lord has visited and given His children bread.  And she is ready to eat at the table that is hers.

Although Naomi stayed away for a very long time, she has the opportunity to return to her home.  And, I’m grateful that can be our story too.  We didn’t mean to stop going to church all together.  We just needed a break from all the “church people.”  We didn’t mean to smoke a pack of cigarettes a day.  We only wanted a couple to take the edge off.  We didn’t mean to eat the whole bag of chips.  It was just a snack while we watched our favorite show.  We stayed in our temporary situations entirely too long.  Ya’ll it’s time for us to return to a healthy state of being.

Life can be challenging.  We have to find healthy ways to handle the stresses of life.  Quick fixes have the potential to derail us.  They can leave us bitter and angry.  God was gracious and allowed Naomi to see that His hand had been on her life the entire time.  He gave her the strength to return to Bethlehem and the life that she walked away from.  Let’s be careful to cope with challenges the right way.  #wepreach

Questions to ponder:

• How do you currently handle stressful situations?
• Do you seek God’s guidance before making big decisions?
• Do you seek God’s guidance before making small decisions?
• Name one coping strategy that you currently use that is causing harm.
• If you identified a harmful coping strategy, think of one safe alternative and try it for the next week.