Living Hope

Pastor Philip Miller: Friends, mercies are everywhere. Not just for Naomi, but for us. There are times when God shouts. When when when he splits the seas and the mountains tremble and glory breaks through. But most of the time, God whispers. He's subtle and discreet and conspiring. And in 10,000 little ways, he's weaving his mercies into the tapestry of our stories. And his mercies are new every morning, and they're everywhere.

Pastor Larry McCarthy: Welcome to Living Hope with Pastor Philip Miller. I'm Pastor Larry McCarthy, and we're so glad you've joined us for this series on the book of Ruth. Now, Pastor Philip, you got to help me. You say mercy is everywhere. Where do we see mercy show up in the book of Ruth?

Pastor Philip Miller: Well, it's starting in all these all these little ways, right? It it started first with the the news that there was bread in Bethlehem that that prompted Naomi to come back to the land, right? With Ruth. And and then all of a sudden, Ruth goes out and she walks she walks out, you know, into into Boaz's field and and you've got he welcomes her and he protects her and he says, you glean here. And he starts giving her roasted barley and and the men will draw the water and there's this and she comes home with just this huge largesse of of barley and there's harvest after harvest.

This is her daily rhythm. And so like the Lord is he's like it's like a little drip of water on the brittle, dried soul, cracked soul of Naomi's heart. He's dropping water, little drops of water onto onto the soil of her heart, teaching her to hope again. Mercy after mercy after mercy. And it's not just these overt things, right? It's the little things. It's it's waking up every morning and there's there is life and breath and and the sun rose and there's food on the table and there's shelter over our heads, right? There's it's the little things.

There's we're actually surrounded by the mercies of God every single day. And if we would learn to drink that in and let that soften our souls and our hearts, it would teach us to hope again, wouldn't it?

Pastor Larry McCarthy: Amen, brother. Now, beloved, stay tuned after the message because Pastor Philip and I, we're going to talk about practical ways we can cultivate eyes to see God's little mercies every single day. But now, let's go to part two of the sermon Glimmers of Hope. Grab your Bibles. Our passage today is Ruth chapter two, verses 17 to 23. And we're going to pick up at verse 21.

Pastor Philip Miller: For the first time in forever, Naomi has a glimmer of hope, of life, of a future, of redemption. And you could feel her heart beating as she comes back in response. But watch this. Ruth changes the subject. Verse 21. And Ruth the Moabite said, beside he said to me, you shall keep close by my young men until they have finished all my harvest. Now, here's what's interesting to me. That's not what Boaz said. If you go back and look at verse eight, you will see Boaz told Ruth, you keep close with my young women. You stay with the young women.

I've told the young men not to touch you. But Ruth here says he told me I could hang out with these young men. What's going on here? Well, Ruth's got her eyes eyes on the boys here. That's what's going on. Ruth is sitting here going Ruth has redemption in mind here, but of a very different kind. She's imagining one of these strapping young Jewish worker boys will cozy up to her when she's out in the field and that will lead to one thing or another and then she'll get married and then she'll have a second chance at life and a future and all of this.

But Naomi here admonishes her. Look at verse 22. And Naomi said to to Ruth, her daughter-in-law, it is good, my daughter, that you should go out with his young women lest in another field you be assaulted. Naomi gives Ruth the same counsel that Boaz gave uh to Ruth. Stick close with the young women. There's protection in the numbers here and she's but Naomi's also pondering something. What will happen here? Boaz is a good man. He's a generous man. He's been kind and just and he's shown favor to Ruth. Could he be even maybe more than all of this?

So verse 23, we get the conclusion. So Ruth kept close to the young women of Boaz, gleaning until the end of the barley and wheat harvest. And she lived with her mother-in-law. So for the next two months as the harvests come in, this is Ruth's routine. She follows Naomi's advice. She gets up in the morning. She goes out to glean. She hangs around the young women. She breaks for lunch, probably eats with the group. Uh she goes back and gleans some more, threshes it out in the evening and returns and brings the proceeds home uh to Naomi.

And over the next two months, as time slowly works on Naomi, something begins to happen in her heart as well. Remember uh back in uh 1 Corinthians 13 verse 13, you have the the three abiding marks of spiritual vitality, faith, hope, and love. In in Naomi here, these three things are starting to come to life. Her faith is being kindled. She's beginning to trust in God again. Her hope is rising. She's imagining life with a future that's bright and and maybe very different what than what she's faced. Her love is renewing here. You even see it in this initial maternal care of Ruth in her life here, watching out for her.

The question though is what triggered this? To what do we owe this transformation in Naomi's heart? Well, the answer is barley. Barley. An abundance of barley. Ah. But barley isn't just barley, is it? Barley's not barley. Barley is the tender little mercies of God in the shadows that Naomi's experiencing, aren't they? That's what the barley is. This is this is this is a tender, gracious mercy that is sinking down into Naomi's heart. And she begins to wonder. And there's four things I think Naomi starts to wonder here. Number one. What if this is not the end after all?

What if this is not the end after all? I mean, it felt like the end when Elimelech died, didn't it? This how could she possibly go on? He was her rock. He was her best friend. He was her world. Now he's gone. How can she keep going? And then when Mahlon and Chilion died, of course, that felt like the end even more. No parent should have to bury their child. And her heart freezes in agony and pain and it feels like the end, the bitter end of her life is at hand. But then mercies in the shadows.

First Ruth's loyal love when she won't quit and leave. And now Boaz's un uncoerced generosity just voluntarily given. All of these unexplained coincidences of Ruth just ending up in Boaz's field who happens to be a goel. And Naomi begins to wonder, what if bitterness is not the end after all? And it reminds us, friends, what is true for all of us and that is that whatever we face, this is a chapter. This is a chapter. Grief will make it feel like it's the end. But mercy reminds us that there is much more to the story to be written.

That this is a chapter, not a conclusion. It is a a moment, not the end. And in our pain and heartache and bitter sorrow, it is so very real, friends, but it is Listen to me. It is not final. It does not define who we are. This too shall pass. A new day shall come. The sun will rise and life will go on. It's the first wonder. The second wonder that Naomi begins to ponder here is what if these mercies are messages? What if these mercies are messages? What if this just isn't barley? What if Ruth's loyal love isn't just random?

What if Boaz's kindness here isn't just coincidence? What if God himself is messaging through these mercies into her life? What if in all of these things God is reaching out to her? What if he is pursuing her, calling her, softening and wooing and drawing her close? What if God is not done with Naomi? You know, she abandoned God with Elimelech when they fled the land, when they went off into the land of and into a foreign place, they left the covenant protection of God. And Naomi might be thinking here, God's just done with me. But in this moment, she's beginning to dare to believe that there's more grace, more mercy, more kindness in God than she could ever have imagined.

And in all these little mercies, God is speaking to her. And friends, mercies are everywhere. Not just for Naomi, but for us. There are times when God shouts. When when when he splits the seas and the mountains tremble and glory breaks through. But most of the time, God whispers. He's subtle and discreet and conspiring. And in 10,000 little ways, he's weaving his mercies into the tapestry of our stories. And his mercies are new every morning. And they're everywhere. They're everywhere. In the laughter of a child. In dew drops in the morning light. In the beat of hummingbird wings.

In every breath and every pulse and every touch and every melody. In the unexpected gifts that come our way. In the grateful smiles we see. In the faithful friends who stay with us. In his promises and in his word, God's mercies are everywhere. And friends, this world is so full of the mercies of God. We don't even hardly notice them. They're so common that we take them for granted. Just like birds don't really notice the air and fish don't note notice the water. We swim in the mercies of God and hardly see them. But Naomi is starting to see them, you see.

Do you see them? Do you hear them? Do you let them into your heart? The third wonder here. Naomi starts to wonder, what if there's shelter in the shadows? What if there's shelter in the shadows? You know, Naomi has been living in the valley of the shadow of death, hasn't she? But she is not alone. And Psalm 23 verse four says, even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil for you are with me. Your rod, your staff, they comfort me. See, she's not alone because there's another shadow that is even more powerful, more real, deeper, and more abiding and lasting than the valley of the shadow of death.

And it is the shadow of the Almighty. The shadow of the Almighty.

Pastor Larry McCarthy: This is Living Hope with Pastor Philip Miller. I 'm Pastor Larry McCarthy. And as we step into today's conversation, I need to thank the generous friends who keep Living Hope freely available to everyone who needs it. As a thank you for your gift today, we have a resource we'd love to share with you. Go to livinghopeoffer.com or call us 1-800-215-5001. We're so glad you've joined us today as we explore God's mercies in the shadows. Pastor Philip, as always, it's good to be here with you. I I think some of our listeners are probably saying to themselves, I never thought about a shadow, how it could actually be for a positive thing.

But that's exactly what you're inviting us to consider today, isn't it? That the shadow of the Almighty really is something positive in our lives.

Pastor Philip Miller: Yeah, it's it's it's this imagery that comes from like Psalm 91 and other places where uh it pictures God as as as a bird actually gathering chicks under her uh her wings like a like a mother hen would do to shelter, to give warmth, protection. And uh and the thing about like a chicken, if you think you know, chickens don't have a lot to fight with. And so if a predator comes along with the chicken, actually the mother hen will will do is she'll actually throw her body into the jaws of the predator to protect her young.

And so those those the shadow the wings that you know, form this little shadowed protection uh it's actually a really beautiful picture and it's tied to God's covenant faithfulness, his his the shelter that he provides, the the warmth, the protection, the nourishment, the strength, but also his willingness to sacrifice himself if that's what it takes on behalf of his people. Um which of course we see in fullness in Jesus, right? Who goes to the cross and lays down his life, throws his own body into the jaws of death and Satan and sin in order to redeem us and protect us and give us life.

And so um it's really beautiful picture, yeah. So you have the valley of the shadow of death, bad shadow. And then you have the shadow of the Almighty, this good shadow in which we can find refuge and life and hope and protection and covenant faithful you know, advocacy as God is there for us. He's our refuge, our rock, and our our place where we can run.

Pastor Larry McCarthy: Mm. So Naomi is finding uh comfort, if you please, in God's shadow and you are inviting us to do that as well. But are are we really saying to the listeners today that our pain has a purpose?

Pastor Philip Miller: Mm. Yeah, so if we're going through a hard season like Naomi is and those things are real. They come into our life. The reality is if if we have taken shadow taken refuge in the shadow of the Almighty, then then we're not alone actually as we travel through the valley of the shadow of death. God is our good shepherd. He's with us always. His rod and his staff are are there comforting us and guiding us through the midst of it all. And so it it is true that when we have when we know we're in a covenant relationship with God and he is committed to us, he's loyal to us, we've taken refuge in him, that we actually don't go through the hard things of life alone.

Pastor Larry McCarthy: Mm.

Pastor Philip Miller: That he is actually with us and he's working in the midst of all these hard and difficult things, right? It's like Joseph said to his brothers, like you intended this for evil, but God intended it for good.

Pastor Larry McCarthy: Right.

Pastor Philip Miller: And we see in the you know, the New Testament version of that, right? In Romans chapter eight, you know, that God is working all things together for the good of those who love him, who are called according to his purpose. That God is working in the midst of the hardest things we'll face in life. We're not alone. And the redeemer is on the job. And he's working. And that means we can have strength to actually endure and get up in the morning because we know we're not alone and because we know there's purpose in the pain and we know that God hasn't abandoned us.

It gives us hope. It gives us something to look forward to. It gives us perspective. These are light and momentary sufferings that are working for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison. They don't feel light and momentary, but when compared with the glories to come, they're just a small thing. And that helps us recognize that we can keep going and we can get up every morning. And we know also that God is in the midst of all of this, purifying us, refining our character, making us more like Christ. Uh he's redeeming all of this.

So so we're not alone and God is on the job. And I think I think that changes dramatically how we go about these hard things. The the hard things are going to come into our life one way or the other. We can't avoid them.

Pastor Larry McCarthy: That's right.

Pastor Philip Miller: But but can you imagine going trying to do it on your own without God with you every step of the way? That would be horrible. But to know that he's with you in the pain and that he's walking with you and of course that's what that's what the cross tells us that God suffers with us. And there's no other God like that. And so that's to take shelter under his wings, knowing that he knows what it means to suffer. I can do that.

Pastor Larry McCarthy: Purpose in the pain because it it affirms and reaffirms for us that God has not left us, but there's so much more there too as well because you're when you're saying that these attributes that God has become personal to us because of these problems, right?

Pastor Philip Miller: Yeah. I mean, how do you know if God's going to be your provider unless you have lack?

Pastor Larry McCarthy: Amen.

Pastor Philip Miller: That's when you know that he's that he's faithful because he shows up.

Pastor Larry McCarthy: All the friends are gone. You can't find a nickel.

Pastor Philip Miller: Yeah. When you yeah, how do you how do you know what it mean when when God says he's a father to the fatherless? He's like a husband to the widow.

Pastor Larry McCarthy: Yes.

Pastor Philip Miller: When when those promises they're all theoretical until you need them. And then you in those moments that we find out that God is enough, we realize it's not just theory, it's not just words. He walks with us and he sustains us and he is enough for us. I I think of like the apostle Paul when he's begging God three times he says he prayed for the thorn in the flesh, whatever that was, to be taken away. And God said, my grace is sufficient for you. I'm I'm not taking away Paul, but because this this thorn is doing something to press you deeper into my heart so that you would abide in me and cling to my grace and it'll keep you humble and dependent upon me.

And I will show myself strong when you're weak. And so like just press in, right? Don't don't try to get out from under it. Let let the let the problem do its work and drive you deeper to me so that you find out that I'm I'm more than enough for this. And that's that's what God's doing in all of this with Naomi and Ruth. He's showing himself to be strong, that he's more than enough. He's dripping these little mercies into their lives. And all of that's just he's proving himself to them, you see.

Pastor Larry McCarthy: How So both of us wear corrective lenses. So how do we reset our spiritual eyesight so that so that we're not so myopic, so so that we can see these these little mercies that you're talking about? How do we raise our sensitivity to that?

Pastor Philip Miller: Yeah. Well, I think it's our what normally happens, right? When we're in pain, when we're in problems, when we're dealing with frustrations, is we just like you said, myopically focus on that problem. You you just said, that's the problem. That's what I need to get rid of. God, fix that. Change that. I want that to go away. God, get rid of that thing. That, that, that, that. And we just we just kind of it start it's you get tunnel vision and you're just looking at the problem all the time. And so and we start forgetting about the mercies.

The little mercies, they're every day. Like every day you wake up, you have you have you have life and breath and the sun shines and birds are chirping and like there's fresh air and you have food and there's clothing and shelter and like like like a hot shower. Like do you realize what a mercy a hot shower is? We've only had a hot showers for like 60, 70 years or something like that. This is amazing to have a hot shower in the morning. Like the Lord's kindnesses are are everywhere if you would willingly distill them out, you know.

I I cycle on the lakefront here in Chicago in the mornings a lot of the time and I get to see the sun in the early morning. Sometimes I catch the sunrise sunrise. It's beautiful. Whether I get up and see it or not, God's mercies are they're there. And so I think, Pastor Larry, we've got to we got to just sit down and start listing them. Just maybe get up in the morning and just say, God, thank you for one mercy. Amen. One mercy I see. And then when you see another one, thank you for another mercy and another mercy as it comes.

And by consciously counting our blessings, focusing on the mercies in the midst of our pain, we're just we're just retraining our eyes to look to Christ, to remember we're not alone, that God's mercies are with us and sustaining. His grace really is sufficient. But we have to train our heart and mind on what God's providing. Otherwise, we're going to miss it. So we've got to look.

Pastor Larry McCarthy: Morning by morning new mercies I see, the songwriter wrote. Beloved, be encouraged today. Counting our mercies one by one is exactly the kind of habit our latest resource helps a child build early. 1 2 3 Jesus loves me for little ones uses the numbers 1 through 10 to organize the book. Each number carries its own short Bible story from the life of Jesus and its own lesson about who he is. Two things end up happening in the same sitting. The counting lesson a parent already wants to teach and the gospel story a parent already wants their child to hear.

And once a child starts counting along, they'll naturally want to read it again. So the stories about Jesus get repeated too. Morning by morning, one mercy and one number at a time. This is a gift that keeps on giving, one number and one story at a time. Now to request your copy of 1 2 3 Jesus Loves Me for Little Ones, simply go to livinghopeoffer.com or call us 1-800-215-5001. You can always write to us at Moody Church Media, 1635 North LaSalle Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60614. Friends, God's mercies aren't rare. They're new every morning if you just look for them.

Next time we'll talk about the foundation of our hope. Thanks for joining us for Living Hope where you'll always find gospel truth for the journey of a lifetime. Living Hope is a production of Moody Church Media and is sponsored by the Moody Church.