We came back screaming and kicking…figuratively and literally.  At least that’s the way it felt as God brought us home from Spain due to Jennifer’s health just two years into our missionary career.   We had seen God work in so many awesome ways to get us to Spain, to help us learn the language and culture as well as establish some key relationships in our town, and now this?   I knew God was at work, but it really seemed all bitter to me.  On the outside it may have seemed like I was handling it well, but inside I was screaming and kicking wondering what possible good God had in all of this.  But I wasn’t the only one….

Our little Micah was five at the time and the all the unknowns, uncertainties, and changes just put him in a tailspin.  It seemed like just out of the blue, he began to become very angry and rebellious.  It really broke our hearts to see the yelling, screaming, and hitting that Micah resorted to when he didn’t get his way or when he was being corrected for something that he had done wrong.  This was happening in our last days in Spain (as we struggled with Jennifer’s health problems, a miscarriage, an expired passport and a flood) and would continue on for about almost two months after coming home.  As I was watching these struggles of my son, it made it even harder to see the providential hand of God working for the joy of His people.  These bitter experiences had clouded my perspective of God and His work. 

Then it happened.  In one evening, sunshine broke through those dismal clouds that I was surrounded by.  I was away at a meeting and Micah had been going through another one of his struggles, with Jennifer taking the brunt of the punishment.  After the dust had settled, she was tucking Micah into bed when he spoke these words, “Mommy, I’m like Peter (when he walked on water to Jesus).  I am sinking in the miry clay and I need to get on the Solid Rock.”  (Yes, he actually said those very words.)  That night, Micah placed his hope and confidence in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation from his sin. Praise the Lord! 

Could it be that some of the trials and hardships of those past few months were part of God’s plan to reach our little boy?  Could it be that God was working to put Micah (and his Dad and Mom) in a place of desperateness for Him?   To bring us to a place where we needed to reach out to Him and see the redemption that is found in Him?    

Naomi in the book of Ruth experienced this.  She was caught up in the storm clouds of heartache and despair and wondered how God could possibly be working for her good and joy.  But He was. He gave her Ruth. Ruth met Boaz in the harvest fields and through Boaz and Ruth, God brought redemption.  Naomi endured many twists and turns but God’s providential hand was guiding her every step of the way, showing us how far God will go to bring redemption to His people.  That is just part of the story- Naomi finally gets a grandbaby, who becomes the grandfather to King David who would be the one through whom God would send to bring redemption to the whole world. 

Remember, He is for us.  Be convinced that He is working for the joy of His people.  Be amazed at how far God will go to bring redemption to His people. 

If you missed Sunday’s message covering the book of Ruth and would like to listen to it,   click on this link:  http://www.buzzsprout.com/3517/34656-10-30-2011-message