The Critical Choices We Make During Dark Days
"I've had it up to here," Elimelech said to his wife as he drew his hand across the top side of his head."If the Lord's not going to do something about it, I will! So much for this place being the place where God wants us to be – God's land! It doesn't get much worse than this. When was the last time we saw rain? We're leaving!"
And they left. Elimelech, his wife Naomi and their two boys. Was it the smartest choice they made in their lifetime or the darkest? Sure, it was barren because there was a famine. But the famine wasn’t just affecting Elimelech and Naomi. All the other people of God were experiencing the same thing – but did they all pack their bags and leave too?
Famines and difficult seasons often become crossroads where faith is tested. Hard times do not necessarily mean we are in the wrong place. Often they are the very place where God is accomplishing His deepest work in us and through us.
Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. Galatians 6:9
But Elimelech lost heart.
“…there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. The name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. Ruth 1:1-2
Imagine these scenarios:
“God, I’m jumping ship,” Moses prayed. “I’ve had it up to here. I no longer think this is what you want me to be doing or where you want me to be. The only way out is to drop out.”
“Lord, I believe it’s your will for me to lock myself in my dorm here in Babylon,” Daniel prayed. “I’m quitting. I know You wanted me to be a witness here, but I can’t cope with the undercurrents any longer, or the blatant attempts to assassinate my character. You name it, Lord, they’re doing it! I just don’t believe this is where You want me to be anymore. So, until I see it differently, I’m turning the key in my lock, and I’ll just serve You in my room here.”
“I think it’s Your will, Lord, for me to cut myself off from the Christians,” Paul told the Lord on bended knees. “I’ll find a monastery in the hills overlooking a placid lake, and I’ll honour you there on the sundeck. I’ll do lots of journaling of my lofty God-thoughts. I’ll enjoy You in my own way. I can’t take all the failures of Your people anymore.”
“Father, the going is rough. Everyone is against Me. I know You wanted me to go to Calvary and die for their sins – but really, this is way too much. I’ve never seen such opposition, such failure, such rejection of Divine things, such departure. I want to leave now!”
It almost seems irreverent to allow that last paragraph to remain. Such a thought never crossed His holy mind. He was in complete obedience to and in harmony with His Father’s will. There was no thought of leaving, calling it quits or turning back because of ‘hard times.’
So don’t throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you need endurance, so that after you have done God’s will, you may receive what was promised. Hebrews 10:35-36
And by the way, Moses never jumped ship, nor did Daniel withdraw himself, nor did Paul spend the rest of his days dipping his toes in the placid lake.
I would have lost heart, unless I had believed That I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living. Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD! Psalms 27:13-14
But Elimelech and Naomi did leave.
Elimelech and Naomi left when the going got rough. Discouraged and disillusioned, they packed their luggage, grabbed their boys’ hands and headed down the road. And ‘down’ it truly was. Many tears. Loneliness. Sickness. Death. Wasted years away from God’s people and God’s land. The head of the home made a tragic choice. “Let’s leave!”
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Sometimes we don’t physically leave at all. Instead, we quietly leave our first love, our Bible, our prayer life, our place among God’s people, our service for Christ, or our confidence that God knows exactly what He is doing. Those departures are often far more serious than changing our address.
Sure, there may have been thriving blades of grass in Moab and lush leaves on the trees, but there’s more to life than that metaphor suggests.
The deepest joy and purest contentment in the Christian life are found in remaining faithful to the Lord, trusting Him, and knowing that your surrender to His sovereign will pleases Him. The real joy in Christian living is doing the things that please God, even if they are brutally hard on me personally.
Read the first chapter of Ruth and ponder whether Elimelech made the right choice during the time of famine. And then reflect on your own heart. Have the dark days tempted you to “leave” in some way? Perhaps not geographically, but spiritually, mentally, or practically?
The best action you can take just now is to lift your heart to the Lord. If you’ve already begun to “leave” in your heart, tell Him so. His love welcomes the repentant, His grace restores the weary, and His strength enables us to remain faithful when the dark days refuse to lift.
When the dark days come, don’t let the famine make your decisions. Let faith in God make them.
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