Now it came to pass…that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem, Judah, went to dwell in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. Ruth 1:1

REFERENCE

Tough and trying situations are not meant to destroy you but to create opportunities for your faith to shine forth; God expects you to go through and come out victorious. Elimelech and his wife Naomi may have started out in marriage with a pleasant experience and things working out for them. However, they encountered some tough times and they decided to leave Bethlehem (their assigned place of abode) to Moab, where the grass looked greener.

There was no account of Elimelech seeking a word of guidance from God to either stay or leave. He decided to ‘help himself’ since it seemed God was delaying; thus, forgetting God’s goodness to His children in the past.

Bethlehem means ‘the house of Bread,’ a place of supply. Bread also speaks of the Word of God (John 6:51). But for a temporary famine of food, Elimelech forsook this place for a cursed land, where there was an abundance of food but a famine of the Word of God; He couldn’t flourish there, and he and his sons became victims of untimely death.

How do you handle tough times? Do you run or do you (S.I.T.) Stay It Through? Do you keep believing in God, or do you run to Moab (a place of unbelief and humanistic ideas)? Eventually, God restored bread to Bethlehem and those who stayed back survived. The grass always looks greener on the other side; but, it is not. Don’t be fooled; stay in the place God has assigned for you, let the Son of Man return and find you in faith!