Finding Jesus
in the Wilderness
When did you
meet Jesus? How did you meet Jesus personally? Here’s
how I met Jesus: I grew up as a pastor’s kid. I grew up in the home of a
pastor. My mother made a vow to God like Hannah did even before I was born. She
gave her son (me) to the Lord for an entire lifetime without asking me. I
learned how to behave at church at an early age. I received Christ into my
heart at least once a year through the Bible camp, VBS, and different special services.
I repeated a sinner’s prayer after my Sunday School teachers numerous times. But
still I didn’t know Jesus personally. I didn’t know how to live with Jesus
daily. I am not saying all those experiences were meaningless. As I look back,
each of those experiences was like a stepping stone. It led me to Christ. But for
a long time I didn’t have my spiritual turning point, so called “conversion
experience.” Always I felt like something was missing. I felt miserable. My
spiritual dissatisfaction had reached an extreme when I was a freshman in
college. I kept asking important questions of life: ‘Who am I? Where am I?
Where did I come from? Where am I going? Does my life have meaning? Is there a
purpose?’ I didn’t have an answer. I really wanted to live a good and
satisfying life, but the reality was the opposite. I was stuck with chronic
sins. I was stuck with a bunch of unsolvable problems of life. My escape from
all this was to join the army. Life in the army was life in the wilderness. It
was barren, rough, and lonely. But later I realized that the wilderness is a
perfect place to meet Jesus personally. I met Jesus there. I was so poor in
spirit. I was thirsty in spirit. Every night after my night-watch duty, I ran
to the restroom, carrying my Bible, because that was the only place that had
light. I read the Psalms. I prayed the Psalms. For the first time I heard what
Jesus spoke to me through the Bible. His Word was living and active indeed. His
Word wiped my tears, encouraged me, sustained me, disturbed me, rebuked me, and
convicted me. His Word began to shape me and change me. I did meet Jesus face
to face in the wilderness of the army.
Three Choices, Three Ways
In today’s passage
we meet three women – Naomi, Orpah, and Ruth. They have different backgrounds.
Their ages, their races, and their characters are all different. But they have
one thing in common. All three of them are in the midst of pain and suffering.
They all lost their beloved husbands unexpectedly. After this, like it or not, now
they must make decisions. In this story we see three choices and three ways
of life. We see three faiths and three futures.[1]
I got this insight from Pastor Roy Laurin, who was a mentor of Billy Graham. I
give credit to him for that.
The first
woman, Naomi, makes her decision to go back to her hometown Bethlehem. In the past there was a famine in Bethlehem Moab Moab land of Moab land of Moab land of Judah Judah Moab Moab
The second
woman, Orpah, makes her decision to stay in Moab. We
don’t know the details why she decided to stay. But we do know she missed a great
opportunity to be incorporated into God’s family. After verse 14, her name is
never mentioned again. She becomes lost from our view forever. Orpah’s
choice becomes her destiny. At first, in verse 10 she was willing to follow
and go back with Naomi. She loved Naomi. She learned from Naomi. She was
challenged by Naomi’s faith and lifestyle. But unfortunately, as a Moabite,
Orpah finally chooses to stay with her own people and her own gods. She chooses
to stay where she is rather than to go on to Israel
The third
woman, Ruth, makes her decision to go on. Both
Orpah and Ruth are Moabite women. They both lost her husbands. They both are
now in pain and suffering. But they choose totally different paths of life. Orpah
chooses to stay; Ruth chooses to go on. In pain Orpah chooses to be
comforted by her own people and her own gods; Ruth chooses a new faith and
meets God personally. It becomes the turning point of Ruth’s life. The story of
Orpah and Ruth reminds us of the story of two other women – Peninnah and
Hannah. Hannah was a woman who was deeply troubled. She got married to a good
man, Elkanah. She had a happy marriage. But, she faced a serious problem. It
turned out she was barren. This brought difficult times to the family. But, the
Bible says it was God who closed her womb (1 Sam 1:5-6). In other words, God
allowed this trial with a purpose. When God allows trials and tribulations in
our lives, there is a clear message in it. The message is, “Come to me. Seek my
face. Cry out to me!” Our pain and suffering are like the loudspeaker of God
who is calling us. But it is our choice whether we respond to his calling.
We may choose to stay where we are. Or we may choose to come and find God
deeply. Peninnah and Hannah responded in different ways. Peninnah was also
Elkanah’s wife. She had children, but for some reason, she was not much loved
by her husband. She was deeply troubled by that. When she faced this problem,
she didn’t come to the Lord. Instead, she chose to provoke Hannah in order to
irritate her. She chose to hurt Hannah. So, Hannah was greatly disturbed and
wounded. When she was greatly troubled, she did one thing. She chose to come to
the Lord and pour out her heart before him. And in this hour Hannah was born
again. Her prayer was answered, and she met God personally. In the same way, in
pain and suffering Ruth chooses to go on and she changes forever.
Meet Jesus
Personally
Have you met
Jesus? How do we know we met Jesus personally? When
we meet Jesus personally, we cannot be the same. We cannot stay where we are.
When we meet Jesus personally, he begins to shape and change every area of our
lives. As I close, I would like to share a story of one man who met Jesus and
was transformed. Josh McDowell was sick and tired of religion, particularly
Christianity. But in college he met one group of Christian students. Through
them, he became a Christian. Once he met Jesus personally, his life was changed
especially over a period of six to eighteen months. And the most significant change
was to forgive two individuals who had damaged him as a child. The first person
was his father, who was a well-known abusive alcoholic in town. He hated his
father. When Josh accepted Christ as his Savior, a powerful love consumed his
life. It affected his feelings for his father. He visited his dad and said, “Dad,
I love you.” A short time later, his dad visited him and said, “Son, how can
you love a father like me?” Josh answered, “Dad, six months ago I despised
you.” He shared how he met Jesus personally. He also shared how Jesus changed
him and has taken away his hatred. After they talked for almost an hour, Josh’s
dad said, “Son, if God can do in my life what I’ve seen Him do in yours, then I
want to trust Him as my Savior and Lord.” And his dad became a Christian. There
was another person Josh needed to forgive. Between six and thirteen years old, he
was sexually abused by a man hired to cook and clean on their farm. When Josh
became a new believer, he knew he had to forgive that man who had scarred him
deeply. So Josh went to see the man and said, “Wayne
Some of us in this
room have had sorrow. Some of us are walking through pain and suffering right
now. And some will face trials and tribulations in the future. But remember
this: God so loves us. He drives us out into the wilderness, so that we may
meet him personally there. The choice is ours. Indeed, now is the
"right time"! Now is the "day of salvation”! Let us meet Jesus
and live! Amen.
