And Naomi said unto her two daughters-in-law, Go, return each of you to her mother's house: Jehovah deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt with the dead, and with me.  Jehovah grant you that ye may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband. Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voice, and wept. And they said unto her, Nay, but we will return with thee unto thy people. And Naomi said, Turn again, my daughters: why will ye go with me? have I yet sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands? Turn again, my daughters, go your way; for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say, I have hope, if I should even have a husband to-night, and should also bear sons; would ye therefore tarry till they were grown? would ye therefore stay from having husbands? nay, my daughters, for it grieveth me much for your sakes, for the hand of Jehovah is gone forth against me. And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clave unto her. And she said, Behold, thy sister-in-law is gone back unto her people, and unto her god: return thou after thy sister-in-law. And Ruth said, Entreat me not to leave thee, and to return from following after thee, for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God; where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: Jehovah do so to me, and more also, if aught but death part thee and me. And when she saw that she was stedfastly minded to go with her, she left off speaking unto her. (Rth: 1: 1-18-ASV)

 

 Let’s take a moment and think about this, there is always a purpose to every problem, God does not allow anything to happen for happenstance. Glory!!  How many of us are focusing on our problems, rather than focusing on the purpose behind it? When life’s trials and circumstances come our way, if we allow them, they can hinder our growth.  Nothing beloved that comes into our lives surprises the Lord.  He already knows what is going to happen and when.  Better yet, He has a solution to every problem we face before it comes into our lives. It is my belief that all problems, pain, circumstances, and situations come into our lives for a reason.  They may come to make us admit our weakness, our inconsistencies, our hidden sins and agendas, our lack of responsibility, our slothfulness, or our disobedience.  God loves us so much that He will do whatever is necessary to get His purpose fulfilled.  I am sure that in the beginning Naomi could not see the purpose behind her problems.  She only knew that she had lost both of her sons and her husband.  She probably thought that it was wise for Orpah to kiss her and left to go back home.  She also wondered why Naomi would want to stay with her since she felt there was nothing more for her daughter-in-law to achieve by staying.  Little did she know, just like most of us, that God had a plan and a purpose for the pain and loss she suffered.  Beloved, just as God had a plan for her, He has one for you and me.  The Bible tells us: and Sarai said to Abram, "The LORD has not given me any children. Sleep with my slave, and if she has a child, it will be mine." Abram agreed, and Sarai gave him Hagar to be his wife. This happened after Abram had lived in the land of Canaan for ten years.  Later, when Hagar knew she was going to have a baby, she became proud and was hateful to Sarai. Then Sarai said to Abram, "It's all your fault! I gave you my slave woman, but she has been hateful to me ever since she found out she was pregnant. You have done me wrong, and you will have to answer to the LORD for this."  Abram said, "All right! She's your slave, and you can do whatever you want with her." But Sarai began treating Hagar so harshly that she finally ran away. (Gen: 16: 2-6-CEV)

 

We know this familiar scripture, and I feel that Sarai, like Naomi did not think there was a purpose for this problem either.  Especially since she was the one who instituted it.  Sometimes, as saved, holy ghost filled, loving the Lord and He is loving us back as we are; we do cause problems and issues to come upon us.  The fact still remains that God is already aware of them and has made a way of escape.  Although Hagar flaunted her pregnancy in Sarai’s face was painful.  However, there was indeed a purpose for the pain.  Let’s remind ourselves there is a purpose behind the problem and the pain. 

 

 I know the Lord to be so loving, gentle and kind that he desires for us to learn the lesson that are in the problems we face, so that we can graduate from that class and not become a repeat offender. It is good to know that whatever comes our way, it does have a purpose. So, the next time we encounter a problem that brings us pain, let us regress and remember God did it then, HE will do it again. Blessings!!