Hey, y'all! It's Tay again :)

So last night I was at Bible study/ small groups with a few of my closest fam. We are beginning our study of the book of Ruth, so we focused in on chapter 1 for the night.

The story of Ruth is not an uncommon one. I've read the short book a few times already, but this particular time rocked my world. Let me explain.

Our group leader had us listen to the audio recording of the first chapter. Then, she dropped some seriously golden nuggets that blew my mind. Within the first few verses of Ruth 1, we are given some very specific names. The ones that stood out to me were famine, Bethelehem, Judah, and Mara.

A little backdrop:

There was a famine in Bethlehem of Judah, so a man named Elimelech took his family to the land of Moab because there was food there. I REALLY wanna go into more detail about the significance of Moab, but for the sake of time and efficiency, I'll stick to my plan! If you want me to go more in depth about this chapter, let me know in the comments :)

Anywho!

Y'all, there was a famine in Bethlehem of Judah. Our leader had us focus in on that and gave us the meaning of those three words I pointed out earlier. We all know a famine is when there's no food in an area. People are hungry. There's no provision. Bethlehem means "house of bread". Judah means "praise". So... there was no food in the House of Bread in the Land of Praise... let that soak in.

How is it that people were lacking in a place of praise? That doesn't make any sense. Right? There should be plenty of resources in such a happy place. Right?

Well, friends, we all know life just isn't like that as much as we want it to be. We experience lack in times of praise sometimes. Everything seems to be going so well and then BAM! Things just went over the cliff's edge.

For those of y'all who aren't familiar with my story, I experienced a famine in my own life not too long ago. Saturday, March 23, 2019 was the best and worst day of my life (so far). I got into my dream school, got a wonderful scholarship, and I felt like I was at my all-time high, y'all. Life was pretty nice if you asked me. Life was just too good...

And then I found out a friend passed away that same day. I went to bed that night feeling so happy while my friend was crushed by the weight of the world. When I found out, my world flipped up-side down. The loss was the first part of my famine. And then confusion set it. Around that time, I was trying to figure out where to go to college. In my mind, my dream school was the place. I had a plan, y'all. I was so ready to dive right in and then God took my plans. He set them aside and asked me to trust Him with His.

That didn't make any sense. What I wanted was a good thing. What I wanted wasn't anything wrong, y'all. In my "land of praise", famine was running rampant and I felt so AWFUL. I was so depressed. That entire summer was the worst I had ever felt. I couldn't get out of it and it was a very very dark time I wouldn't wish on my enemies. Seriously. On top of that, all my friends were going where they wanted to go. I'll be honest, I was a bit upset with God. I thought He would be happy with me going to a Christian school. I thought He would be happy with me doing all that for Him.

In the book of Ruth, Naomi (one of the main characters) lost everything she had. When she returned home to Bethlehem when the famine was over, she had everyone call her Marah. That name means "bitter". Just like her, I was extremely bitter. I felt a darkness so bitter, I might as well have changed my name to Marah, too. I couldn't see the light.

It wasn't until last night that things finally clicked for me. What I wanted wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but it was just not God's will for this season of my life. I can't describe the release I felt last night making this connection from this Bible story I read so many times to my own life.

Everything could be going well in your life and then a curveball gets sent you way. Do. Not. Fear. Do not label yourself as the emotion you feel in that moment. That moment is not your eternity. Instead, cling to the promises God speaks over you in His word. Cling to the hope and redemption He offers. Fix your eyes and set your mind on things concerning Him. Set your heart on eternity. You can still praise Him in your famine. He will give you exactly what you need even when nothing makes sense.

He just wants you to fully trust Him and be okay with letting His will prevail. I promise there is freedom in that. It won't happen overnight, but will be a daily process even for the best of us.

So in the middle of your famine in your land of praise, trust that this famine will not last forever. There is a harvest, friend, whether it be in this life or in eternity with the Father. Trust that this process will draw you nearer to the Father. It's so much harder to fight it than to submit to His will.

You will eat again.
You will see the beginning of the harvest.
You will experience redemption.

There is hope.
There is freedom.

Surrender it to Him.