I recently finished reading the Book of Ruth. I was excited to read it knowing that in spite of the challenges and pain at the start of the book, the story ends on a note of hope and joy because of God’s restorative power.
    One can’t help but notice the bitterness and pain at the beginning of this story (Ruth 1). Naomi, her husband, Elimelech, and their two sons, leave their home town of Bethlehem because of famine. They settle in Moab where they hope to experience a better life. Unfortunately, Naomi’s husband dies. Her two sons marry Moabite women but then her two sons also die. Naomi is left alone with her two daughters-in-law. When she hears that the famine in Bethlehem has ended, she decides to return home. One of her daughters-in-law, Ruth, insists on returning with her. The people in the city are excited at her return but she is so bitter in spirit that she insists that they call her “Mara” which means “bitter.”
    I think that there are times for many of us, when we are faced with challenging situations that make us bitter and discouraged. We may feel completely hopeless and helpless and can’t even see the light at the end of the tunnel. We may blame God, we may blame others, we may blame ourselves. But at that point, we may feel as if we are in a pit with a cover and we can’t get out, no matter how hard we try. 
    Thankfully, this was not the end of Naomi’s story or Ruth’s. God was writing their story and He had a plan for all that He had allowed to happen to them. It’s the same with you and me. As children of God, God is writing our story. That being said, it means that God has a purpose for every negative thing that has come and that will come your way. That situation does not have the final say in your life. Naomi’s negative situation was not the end of her story either.
    As it turns out, Boaz, a wealthy and generous close relative, becomes a kinsman redeemer. In so doing, he is able to protect Naomi and Ruth and when he marries Ruth, he is able to continue Elimelech’s family line (Ruth 4). Naomi’s bitterness turns to joy, especially at the birth of her grandson, Obed. Her husband’s family line has not ended after all because God had a better plan for all that she had been through.
    Just like Naomi and Ruth, we can’t always see the end of our story. Things may look so bleak and hopeless that we may think that it’s the end. The beautiful thing with God is that when we allow Him to take over, especially at the point where we cannot continue, He turns things around in a way that we would never expect. No matter where you are, or where your story is at the moment, God is still able to write an ending of hope, beauty and joy. God is a master at restoring what looks hopeless and bitter. When you and others might be saying “it’s over” God is saying “No, it’s not.” What you think you may have lost, God is able to restore. He can restore your health, He can restore your relationships, He can restore whatever is broken in your life. 
    So, no matter how hopeless things look, I encourage you today to turn your eyes to the God who is able to do the impossible. What is impossible for you and me is possible for Him. 
    If you have not accepted Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Lord and Saviour, I encourage you to do so today. God is interested in your story. He truly desires the best for you. Though negative situations may arise, God is able to turn things around and create a story of hope, redemption and restoration.

    “Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the Lord who has compassion on you. (Isaiah 54:10)
    I read various versions of the above verse but this particular version spoke volumes to me. It tells me that even if everything around me fails and falls apart, God’s love for me will not. Just as God Himself never fails, His love for us also never fails.
    I am reminded of numerous stories in the Bible of God’s love for us. First and foremost, Jesus’ choice to die to pay the price for our sins so that we don’t have to face the consequences that we deserve, is testament of His unconditional love for us. The woman caught in the act of adultery deserved to die yet Jesus chose to publicly forgive her and release her from the judgement she so justly deserved (John 8:1-11). What about the woman with the issue of blood? She secretly touched the hem of Jesus’ clothes and was healed, yet Jesus chose to publicly acknowledge her healing and so reinstate her into a society where she had previously been rejected because of ceremonial uncleanness (Luke 8:43-48). 
    However, there is one story that catches my attention - that of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32). The younger of two sons chose to take the inheritance due him and leave his father’s house to go off into a far country. There he squandered it on wild living. When the country was faced with a famine, the only job he could get was to feed pigs. He was so hungry that he longed to eat the pigs’ food. No one offered him anything. When he came to his senses, he decided to humble himself and return to his father’s house. He planned to ask for forgiveness and was willing to become one of his father’s servants. He made his way home and while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and ran to him and kissed him. Even though he asked to become one of his father’s servants, his father refused. Instead he reinstated him as his son, gave him a robe, put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. He ordered a fatted calf to be killed and held a feast for him. His father loved him so much that he treated him as if he had not done anything wrong. 
    This reminds me of God’s love for us. God knows we are not perfect. Even when we don’t love and treat Him as we should, God does not hold that against us. The fact that He allowed His Son Jesus to die for us even before many of us were even born, is testament of His love. He put things in place not just for those who were alive when Jesus walked the earth, but for those who would come after. 
    My own life is not a perfect one. I remember when years ago, I chose to walk away from God. Yes, I enjoyed being out in the world but interestingly, I was not truly happy. I had moments of happiness but I had no peace. I was depressed and initially didn’t know why. Then I realised that it was because I had moved away from my God. I knew I had to make my way back to Him but it was difficult. But God loves me so much that He did not leave me to come back to Him on my own. He knew I needed His help and He helped me come back to Him. That was in 1992. I have not turned back since. God’s love for me has been and continues to be unconditional, amazing, and quite frankly incomprehensible at times.
    It’s the same with all of us. No matter how far we may have gone or we may go, God, like the prodigal son’s father, is waiting with open arms for us to come back to Him. And maybe you have not strayed from Him. Maybe you are just struggling in some particular area, or maybe you are going through a season of testing that makes you feel as if God is far away. He isn’t. He’s right there. One thing God assured me of when I rededicated my life to Him is that He will never leave me nor forsake me. That same promise applies to you. We may turn our back on God, we may even reject Him or take Him for granted at times, but God will still continue to love us. According to 1 John 4:8 & 16, God is love. God cannot be or do anything less than who He is…LOVE.
    If you have not accepted Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Lord and Saviour, I encourage you to do so today. Nothing can separate us from God’s love for us. It doesn’t matter what we are going through or what we have done, God loves us. Period. That has not changed and it never will.

    There is an interesting story in the Old Testament in the book of Joshua. Israel had crossed the Jordan River into Canaan, the Promised Land. They defeated and destroyed the cities of Jericho and Ai and the nations around became concerned. One such city, Gibeon, became fearful and made a treaty with them. When the king of Jerusalem heard that they had made this treaty, he enlisted the help of four other kings to fight with him against them. 
    Gibeon, in turn, cried out to the Israelites for help. The Israelites responded to their cry and fought against those kings and their armies at Gibeon. As they fled, the Israelites pursued after them. The Lord even threw hailstones down on them and killed many of them. However, Joshua, Israel’s leader, seemed to realise that they needed more time. He spoke to the sun and the moon commanding both to stand still. Both heavenly beings stopped. The sun did not go down for about a full day until Israel was able to avenge itself on its enemies. God had listened to Joshua and made the sun and moon stand still. He was indeed fighting for Israel (Joshua 10).
    The obvious miracle in this story grabs your attention. However, it’s not just about God’s miraculous ability to do impossible things, but about the reality of what God will do to take care of His own (v.13). Think about it. God changed the course of nature just to give His people the extra time they needed to fight against and defeat their enemies. On top of that, when the sun and moon stood still, they were not the only ones affected. I am sure people around the world were wondering what in the world was happening. God changed the whole course of nature not just to prove His might and power, but to prove His love for His people. 
    We may not always realise it, but God will go to some amazing lengths just for you and me. If you were to reflect on God’s goodness in your life, you may be amazed at the kind of things God has done just for you. We may sometimes take Him for granted not realising the heights and depths He has gone to just to deliver us from that situation, just to encourage us when we needed it, just to give us hope when everything around us seemed to be falling apart. 
    I recall some years ago my struggle to have children. I started using the doctor’s medication prescribed but then decided that I was just going to trust God to do for me what He had done for Sarah, Hannah and other women in the Bible. Some may have thought that I was crazy to make that choice, but I wanted to prove God. He did not disappoint. He not only opened my womb and blessed me with children, but they came in His perfect timing. To me, that was two miracles in one. 
    We love to say that God is the God of the impossible. He is. His ability far extends beyond our wildest imagination. Yet, God doesn’t just do the amazing things He does just to prove who He is, or what He can do. He does them because He loves us and He needs us to know that He will go to any length just for us. God is good. God is faithful. God loves us.
    If you have not accepted Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Lord and Saviour, I encourage you to do so today. Serving a God who can and will do the impossible just because He loves you is indeed a privilege. Nothing is too hard for our God. Nothing can stand in the way of His love for you.

    While yesterday I was feeling anxious and a bit stressed, today I found myself feeling unusually thankful. I found myself actually thanking God for a number of things one after the next. During the course of the day, God allowed me to see and to be reminded that He was in control, that He saw everything I was going through and that He cared. I watched Him remove the stress as He showed me that I did not have to worry. He was working things out more than I realised. Interestingly, the day before, He told me very clearly through someone to not be afraid. In short, He was working it all out although I could not see it at the time. He had my back and He has me!
    I am reminded of 1 Thessalonians 5:18 which says, “In everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” Simply put, no matter what we may be facing, we need to choose to have an attitude of thanks to God. We need to trust that in any and every situation, God will deliver, God will rescue, God will sustain us. He will bring good out of any situation and knows how to use both the good and bad in our lives to bring about something good for us. We may not always feel thankful, but it is important to choose to be thankful no matter how we might feel.
    I am reminded of the story of Daniel in the Old Testament (Daniel 6). King Darius placed various leaders over his kingdom to help him rule. Daniel, a Hebrew, was one of them. Daniel, however, had such a spirit of excellence on him, that the king desired to make him ruler over the entire kingdom. In their jealousy, the other rulers tricked the king into signing a decree that anyone who prayed to any other god or man but the king, within a thirty day period, should be thrown into the lions’ den.
Interestingly, when Daniel heard about the decree, he chose to go to his room where he prayed and gave thanks to his God three times a day as he was accustomed to doing (v.10). He knew he could be thrown into the lions’ den if he was found out. Yet, he went to his room, and with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he prayed and thanked his God. 
    It is easy to be thankful when circumstances are favourable, when we are not faced with challenges. But when we are in the midst of trials, that’s the best time to give thanks to God. Choosing to praise and give God thanks not only changes us but it has a way of turning negative situations around as well. Daniel was of course caught and thrown into the lions’ den. But God was faithful and prevented the lions from harming him. His choice to continue giving thanks to his God, even when he knew he could be killed for it, brought about a miraculous deliverance for him. As if that was not enough, the king gave an order throughout his kingdom that the God of Daniel should be honoured. 
    Having a heart and attitude of thanksgiving towards God is more powerful than you can imagine. God sees and knows what we are going through, but I believe that He appreciates when we make an effort to be thankful even when it is difficult and the situation is not ideal. At the end of the day, God not only answers prayer but He responds favourably to the choice to be thankful in difficult circumstances.
    If you have not accepted Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Lord and Saviour, I encourage you to do so today. Choosing to thank God when it is difficult, can change circumstances, turn situations around and bring favour in impossible situations. 
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