God's Provision

Morning. Entering into each other's lives in the midst of trial is something we're called to, but it's very difficult. It's one of the great challenges of the Christian faith. It's amazing actually how unhelpful we can be sometimes when we are invited into someone's suffering. I have to constantly remind myself, don't be Job's friend. Don't try to fix their problem. That's not why they're coming. No, they need to be pointed to God. As we consider what you just heard Sarah read, and if you're turning, you can use the Pew Bible, that's page 223, that's where Ruth is found. I wanna go through some of the more unhelpful ways we could counsel each other. One is the moral counsel. That's the one that says, whatever's going on with you, there must be some sin that has caused this suffering. Surely we just need to evaluate, figure out what you did wrong, fix that problem, and then you'll go about your happy life. The other one is the silver lining counsel. Oh, don't worry, everything will work out. Everything will be okay, it'll get better. There's got to be a silver lining on this. Based on what? This is just flippant, empty optimism. My favorite is the rational counsel. Say someone has a fear of flying. Well, their friend comes and says, well, don't you know it'd be more likely that you would die leaving your own driveway than it is that you die in a plane wreck? Well, thank you, since fear is so rational, let me recalculate everything, and oh, by the way, now I'm never gonna leave home again. We come and we try to help. We trust it's meant to be helpful, but so often it's just not. So today we're looking at a woman who is weary in her suffering. We're turning to this short book named Ruth. And it's interesting that this book is named Ruth because Ruth is not the primary character. As you just heard chapter one, it's really all about Naomi. Ruth does not get the most attention in action. She does not get the most attention in words. It's also the only book named after a non-Israelite. She's a foreigner. She's a Moabite. She's a female Moabite. And here we are, one of the sweetest, shortest books of the Bible named after her. As we turn here, I want to help set up the setting of the story. This is verses one and two. When did this take place? Well, it took place in the days of the judges. The judges, we just left this book. We've gone from the constant cycle of returning to evil and playing the whore of other gods and rejecting God to this sweet, simple book of Ruth, and we're doing this intentionally to show what God is doing in his grace even in the midst of all the despair of Judges. Judges isn't chronological even the way it's written, so we don't know exactly when it's landed, but it's important, it's after Joshua, they come into the land, it's before there's a king to lead God's people in God's land. Okay, so where are we? For the most part, this story takes place, this chapter at least, takes place in Moab. There's a man who has left Bethlehem. Again, Bethlehem was significant at the end of Judges. Bethlehem's been significant at the beginning of 1 Samuel. He's left Bethlehem, he's a man of Judah, and he's gone into Moab. The Moabites are descendants of Abraham, but they're not the promised children. Moab was a descendant of another child, and we know a bit about them. They worship the god of Chemosh, and they practice such wickedness as child sacrifice. Okay, well, who? There's a man from Bethlehem, Elimelech. His wife, Naomi, the primary character we're looking at this morning. Two sons, Malon and Chilion, and then they marry two Moabite women. Orpah and Ruth. Verse three, we see right off the bat, things do not go well in Moab. First, we see that Naomi's husband dies. Then after he dies, it appears that the sons marry, and then the sons die, and here we have a widow who has two sons die, she's left with two daughters-in-law. And then we see God begins to lead her home. Look at verse six. Notice there's a possessiveness. God says you are my people. Israel has been redeemed and purchased by his people and here Ruth from a distance hears God has given them, he's blessed them abundantly. So she arises. And I want you to see one of the key actions in this chapter is return. She's returning from the country. She's returning to Israel. She tells her daughters-in-law, turn back. It's the same root. It's a word that really controls much of the story. Look at verse eight. She tries to go alone. Naomi said to her two daughters, daughter-in-laws, go, return each of you to her mother's house. And look at this blessing because it contains two of the most precious, important words connected to Yahweh. May the Lord deal kindly with you. That's the Hebrew word hesed. There's really not a good one-word English translation for this. It's translated elsewhere. It was translated in the call to worship. Steadfast love. Here it's kindness. May the Lord deal kindly with you. It's a very important word because when Moses said, God let me see your face, God said you cannot, but this is who I am. I am abounding in steadfast love. God identifies himself with this very word, with this very action. The next word is rest. May the Lord deal kindly with you as He has dealt with the dead and with me. The Lord grant that you may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband. Now this is a wishful thinking, hoping that they would go back home and they would remarry and they would have fruitful lives. Rest is important because if you go back to Genesis 1, creation ends with rest. God rested. Now rest here is not a nap, even though many of us enjoy that rest very much. No, no, rest, it refers to fruitfulness, an orderly life, a peaceful life. There's no worry, there's no fear. It's the end and goal of creation. It is what God has created us for. So after Naomi tries to push her daughter-in-laws out back home, seeking to what it looks like to do what's good for them with a blessing, They wept. Look at the end of verse nine. Then she kissed them and they lifted up their voices and they wept. There's a loving relationship here between the three of them. They respond, no, we're not going to go. We're going to go with you. And Naomi won't take no for an answer. Verse 11, turn back, my daughters. Will you go home with me? She tries to now reason with them. Again, that is not always the most helpful thing to do in a moment of crisis. Have I yet sons in my womb, that they may become your husbands? Turn back, my daughters, on your way, for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, even if I should have a husband, this night should bear sons. Would you therefore wait till they are grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters. No, no, no, she's seeking to care for them. Now, it's important that the reason that this is so difficult for her as a widow without sons is a woman is very much dependent upon a man in this culture. Women didn't typically go out and get jobs. There's a provision and a protection in this culture that depended upon a man, and here she's left alone, and she doesn't want these daughters to be left without a man to provide and protect. So she's saying, how, I can't. I'm too old to have husbands for you. I'm too old to bear the kind of children that you need to have husbands. Go home so that your families might figure this out. She has a personal affection. It's interesting here, this is her only family and she's pushing them away. And then we get to the most concerning part of her argument. No, my daughters. For it is exceedingly bitter to me for your sake that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me. The hand of the Lord has gone out against me. This is her interpretation of the events of her life. Not only is she alone because her husband has died, not only is she alone because her two sons have died, she feels alone because she feels God has abandoned her. God is even against her. One of the most important truths of who the one true God is, is His knowing. He declares, I am with you, I am for you. That is the Yahweh of the Old Testament. That is the God who has revealed Himself in our word. And these events of her life, this calamity, this trial, this extreme difficulty, let's not lessen it, but it's flipped her world so upside down that she's now reinterpreting God in light of those circumstances. This trial has shaken her to their core. So that she now interprets God in light of those circumstances. The hand of the Lord has gone out against me. They lifted their voices and they wept again, verse 14. Notice the contrast. Orpah kissed her mother and she left. Ruth clung to her. She held fast. Verse 15, see your sister-in-law. She's gone back to her people. Return after your sister-in-law. What comes next is one of the most powerful declarations of love and commitment in Scripture. Ruth responds to her mother-in-law, who's clearly so lonely she just wants to be alone. Do not urge me to leave you. or to return from following you. For where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord do so to me, and more also, if anything but death parts me from you. I first heard these words, I remember hearing these words, and the way they really weighed heavily, was at a wedding. And it's so fitting. Now this isn't a wedding, but these are the kinds of commitments that we would really only give to a spouse today. This is a daughter-in-law, foreigner, to a mother-in-law. The commitment, wherever you go, I will go. Wherever you lodge, I will lodge. Your people, my people, your God, my God, I am with you and I'm not turning back. This is the kind of friend someone needs in the midst of the kind of despair Ruth is in. She's fully committed. This is a covenant. It's giving her word. It's uniting herself with her mother-in-law Nothing is going to change that. Notice verse 18. Naomi saw that she was determined. She said no more. Ruth has given this very clear commitment. It is encouraging. It is overwhelming. Naomi stops. Now again, in a trial, praise God for friends who know how to be like Ruth. It's hard to be this kind of friend. It's hard to find this kind of friend. It's amazing what happens that comes out of her steadfastness. One of the most interesting things about Ruth is, in our Christian Bible, it's placed between Judges and 1 Samuel, and that's a good place for it to be because it helps us connect Okay, the problem in Judges, there's no king. We see in Ruth how God is in his sovereignty, in his redeeming love, bringing about the right king. We see God bringing about great promise fulfillment because of where it's placed in our New Testament, our Christian Bible. The Hebrews have it in a different place. It's right in Proverbs. And I believe it's intentionally there because in Proverbs, it ends with how to find an excellent wife. It ends with a description of a wife, a woman who is more precious than jewels. And I believe that the Jews teach, Ruth is placed here because she's presented as the ideal woman. Notice it says nothing of her physical features. It speaks of her steadfast commitment and love. She's supposed to be a model. A Moabite woman is the model wife for Jewish boys to learn from. That's just how God works. But I think we need to go one step further. This isn't just a story about how to be a good friend, a good counselor, a good wife. This story, I believe, points us to Christ, because I believe here Ruth is a type of Christ. Nahum is burdened. She's broken. Ruth is like Christ to us here. I will not leave you. I will not forsake you. My love abounds to you. This is like the love of Christ, only it's much stronger and much more steadfast when it comes from Christ. A key difference here. Ruth can only promise that where I die, where you're buried, I'll be buried. No, Christ is so much different because when Christ speaks, He says, I'm going to rise again so that I can give you new life. His love is greater, His power is greater. As we look to this kind of love, we see that Christ does not leave us alone in our despair. What we see here is God provides for His people. It's actually amazing, if we just back out a moment, Naomi should be recognizing, even though she feels God is against her, God right here in Ruth is providing for her the kind of love and care she needs. If you want to look at what the love of Christ is like, here's just a small glimpse of the kind of commitment He makes to us. As we continue on the story, it gets harder. As we see more of Naomi and the kind of suffering she's taking on. The two of them, they journey on. Naomi's given up. So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. So now we have a new setting. They're back home. And when they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them. And the women who would have grown up with Naomi. Is this Naomi? She said to them, do not call me Naomi, which means pleasant one. Call me Mara. For the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went away full, and the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me pleasant one? when the Lord has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me. There's a number of things we need to focus on here. She's making a strong contrast. I'm no longer the pleasant one, I'm the bitter one. I'm no longer full, I've been brought down to empty. The Lord testifies against me. This is so hard to read, it's so hard to hear when actually folks talk like this. The first thing we need to see is she's self-identifying with her suffering. Bitterness isn't just something she's wrestling through and fighting against, it's her new name. She's taking on her suffering. She's personifying it as if it's her now. Or we could talk about, as the ladies discussed Wednesday night, she's listening to herself. She's soaking in her circumstances so that what her circumstances are saying to her, it is who she is, rather than reminding herself of who God is and what He said about her. Second, she's interpreting God in light of her circumstances. As someone who fears God, she looks at her circumstances and says, the only outcome of this, God must have abandoned me. He's testified against me, he's turned against me. This is denying everything God has said up to this point for his covenant people who believe in him. Let me just read a few of these promises that God has given up to this point in his word. You will be my people, I will be your God. I will bless you and multiply you. That's Genesis 12. I am the God who is able to use evil for your good. Genesis 50. My presence will go with you. I will give you rest. Exodus 33. I am merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. Exodus 34. The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace. Number six, do not be afraid. The Lord your God will fight for you. Number six, be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified. Do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. Joshua one. That's just a few of the promises and exhortations that we know from what she should have already heard from the Word of God up to this point. But it's difficult to cling to promises in the midst of circumstances. Let's step back and let's just consider where she is in this story. She sought to isolate herself because of her suffering. She's taken on the suffering as her new identity, and she assumes that God is against her in this suffering. This is rightly diagnosed as spiritual depression. Or what others would call the dark night of the soul. Just because God records this doesn't mean this is what God prescribes. I believe God's word records this because this is how we typically respond. We want isolation in our suffering. We want to identify with our suffering. We want to doubt God in our suffering. This poor woman, This is real suffering. She's lost a husband, two sons. She can't provide for her two daughters-in-law. She's alone, she's lonely. There's hopelessness. As Lloyd-Jones teaches us, the ultimate cause of spiritual depression is unbelief. And here I think it's important to see there's two ways we can usually look at God. We oftentimes want to think God's really good. He's just not powerful enough. That's the way our culture normally looks at it. God's got to be good. He really wants good, but He just can't make things work out for the good the way He should. Here, she has the opposite problem. She recognizes that God is all-powerful, but she does not recognize God's chesed. She does not see God's goodness, steadfast love, and kindness. That is absolutely terrifying. There's a song we sing, we didn't sing it this morning. God moves in a mysterious way. Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, but trust him for his grace. Behind a frowning providence, he hides a smiling face. Blind unbelief is sure to err and scan his works in vain. God is his own interpreter, and he will make it plain. She's denying God's most basic promise. I am with you. I am for you. She's letting the circumstances, the very difficult, frustrating circumstances, reinterpret that. so that she insists God is against her. This is hard. It's so tempting to want to isolate ourselves and identify with our suffering. In my moments of despair, there's some kind of lie, I realize it's a lie, but it says if you'll just descend into this darkness a little bit, you'll find a little comfort. Descend into that darkness of complaining, arguing, Look for the comfort that can be found in the kind of self-pity you feel right now, Keith. It promises to be comforting. But God's grace, it always seems like when I wanted to sin there, there's a flash of light, there's a cross, and what God says, are you saying I'm not doing a good enough job of loving you? That's what we do in our self-pity. Where won't we tell God, you're not doing a good enough job of loving us. When we complain, we grumble, we want to take on that isolation, that suffering, we reject God, we're ultimately saying, you could be doing better, God. We're just like Naomi, we question His chesed. There's a banner that sits over my mantle. My wife bought this sign for us. It says, if there were a better condition for me, divine love would have put me there. I don't always like that sign, but I always know it's true. Friends, divine love is your sure foundation. Our circumstances will be difficult and frustration, but His kindness does not fail. Go to the even sweeter promise in the New Testament. Romans 8, there's no condemnation for those who are in Christ. There's no separation for those who are in Christ. cling to his promises, praying, help my unbelief. As we think about suffering, look to Naomi. She lost everything. She believes God is against her. She's turned in on herself in a way that our sin causes us to do, and I want you to see God's already provided a committed friend. Okay, that's what we already see in this story. The next story, we're gonna see God's gonna provide for her daily bread. He's gonna provide for her provision, something she's anxious about. Next week, we're gonna see how God puts his chesed on display because Boaz is going to come and redeem Ruth. The foreigner unloved is going to be brought into the home of provision the Lord provides. It's really a sweet love story as we progress. When we back up a little further, we're gonna see it points to a greater love story. The son of Ruth and Boaz is going to be the great, great, great, great grandfather of David. David is going to be in the line of the eternal throne. The solution to the judge's problem, which is the big problem of this day, is being presented right here. God is bringing about, in the midst of her suffering, over against her suffering, I'm going to put a king on the throne who's going to love you and redeem you. I want to be very clear, that is not silver lining. That's a scarlet thread. God has made promises. God has said, my steadfast love is sure, even in the midst of your suffering, even in the midst of your sin, even in the midst of you trying to cast me off, I am going to keep every promise. Naomi says, the Lord testified against me. No, the Lord is testifying in the midst of her weakness. I am strong. The Lord is testifying in the midst of her difficulty. I will provide. You can trust me. As we turn from Naomi, we need to see here, there's a clear transition. Verse 22, so Naomi returned, Ruth and Moab, by her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab, and they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest. It's a wrapping up of chapter one, and an introduction to chapter two. We've wrapped up, we've moved in, and it's important to know it's the barley harvest. There's a time of abundance here in Israel. Let's first be introduced to our new character. Verses one to seven, chapter two. Now, Naomi had a relative of her husband's, a worthy man of the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. Now, already we are forced with a contrast. The men of Gibeah, worthless men who caused destruction, Boaz, a man of worth. He has honor. He's a man who keeps his word, who acts with integrity. The narrator is introducing us to this man, even though Ruth and Naomi seem to not be quite aware of him yet. The narrator is leading us along, showing us how God is leading this whole story. And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after him, and whose sight I shall have in favor. That seems to be a wishful thinking. Whoever God might give us favor, let me go and try to glean. Gleaning is picking up the scraps from the harvest. It's going and finding the leftovers that the reapers left behind. They're eating the scraps from the harvest. And Naomi said, go, my daughter. So she set out and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers, and she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz. She just happened to do that. This is the equivalent of kind of her lucky stars all lined up just right. Now don't believe that. God is in control of this story. She has happened according to God's perfect will for her well-being to come upon Boaz, who's of the clan of Naomi's dead husband. And behold, that's an entrance for a man, right? Shows up on his horse, and behold, there's Boaz. Behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem. And he appears to be a godly man. He comes to the reapers, those who are serving him in the fields. He blesses them. The Lord be with you. And they answered, the Lord bless you. Then Boaz said to the young man who was in charge of the reapers, who's that lady over there? He's taken notice. There are lots of women at the edges of all the fields gleaning. Boaz wants to know who one woman is. And the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered, she's a young Moabite woman who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. She said, please let me glean and gather from among the sheaves of the reapers. So she came and she has continued from early morning until now except for a short rest. We see here there's a introduction. Next, Boaz speaks with her. Boaz said to Ruth, now listen, my daughter. He's trying to speak to her as carefully and as caring as possible. Do not go to glean another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young men. Why? Another field she might be harassed or assaulted. Boaz is seeking to do what a man does and he's providing protection. Let your eyes be on the field that they are reaping and go after them. Have I not charged the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn. You get to not just hang out with the reapers, the gleaners. You can go and partake of the sustenance we provided for the reapers. He deals kindly with her. And notice here that her response, why? Why have I found favor in your eyes that you should take notice of me since I am a foreigner? There's no entitlement here. There's humility. Boa has answered, all that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told of me. And now you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before. Notice this last sentence. Each of these dialogues, they end with a very pointed theological declaration. Naomi says, God has abandoned me. Here, Boaz says, the Lord repay you for what you've done. and a full reward be given to you by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge. Usually we think about repayment from the Lord, we're terrified. Usually we think the Lord will repay you, we want to sing, Jesus paid it all, I don't have to pay anything else for my debt. Normally we know that God is an equitable God, he is a truthful, just God, and he's going to give us what we deserve. And that's where we rejoice that Christ has died for us. He has paid our penalty in full. That is the good news of the gospel. But there's also good news here. When we trust God, he's faithful. As the hymnist said, those who trust him wholly will find him wholly true. What Boaz is saying here, the Lord, he's going to give you blessing because you've trusted him. You've not done what we normally do in trouble. You've not tried to fight or seek flight. You've taken refuge. You've taken refuge in the wings, the provision, the protection, the care of the Lord. That's where you've gone. She said, I have found favor in your eyes, my Lord, for you have comforted me, spoken kindly to your servant, though I am not one of your servants. Notice there again, chesed. Now Boaz is the one showing the kindness. He is inviting in the foreigner. Now the next scene is mealtime, verse 14. And at mealtime Boaz said to her, come here and eat some bread and dip your morsel in the wine. So she sat beside the reapers. The gleaners and the reapers, they're very separated. She says, he says, come here, you come and participate, you come and join in and the real feast be provided. She sat beside the reapers and he passed her roasted grain and she ate until she was satisfied and she had some left over. Now let's go back to Naomi. She left Bethlehem, when in Moab she came back empty. Naomi's testimony is the Lord has been against me and I am now empty. Here we see how the Lord, because they are connected, we have to see He's reversing that. He's saying it's not true. I am given to you and I'm given to you so abundantly. There's leftovers. The Lord provides. She ate until she was satisfied. She was full. And then she had some leftovers. And she rose to glean, and Bella has instructed his young men, this guy's got a smitten here. Let her green over there with the sheaves. Don't let her just take the leftovers that you leave behind. Let her go straight into the crop and take the best. And I'll tell you what, just go in and take a bundle, loosen it up for her, and let her just take out of that. You guys work to build the bundle, just do all the work for her and let her take. the Lord has provided. So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an effa of barley. That's about 10 days worth of food. You typically glean for the day. Give us this Lord our daily bread. There's a gleaner who's going out and just hoping I will get enough for today. She's coming back, first day, foreigner, not knowing where she's going to go. She happened to fall into Boaz's field, and she's coming back with 10 days worth of food. She took it up and went to the city. Her mother-in-law had seen what she had gleaned. She also brought out and gave her what food she had left over after being satisfied. And her mother-in-law said to her, where did you glean today? And where have you worked? Blessed be the man who took notice of you. So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked and said, the man's name with whom I work today is Boaz. Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, may he be blessed by the Lord whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead. Maybe we start to see a little crack in that hard heart of Naomi here. The Lord is continuing to bless. Naomi also said to her, the man is a close relative of ours, one of our redeemers. Maybe there's a picture here that God's not done yet. A redeemer being someone who could actually marry Ruth, take on the family as his own. And Ruth, the Moabite, in case you forgot, said, Besides, he said to me, you shall keep close by my young men until they have finished all my harvest. And Naomi said to Ruth, her daughter-in-law, it is good, my daughter, that you go out with these young women, lest in another field you be assaulted. So she kept close to the young women of Boaz, gleaning until the end of the barley and wheat harvest. And she lived with her mother-in-law. To come to a conclusion, Naomi was in a desperate place. She lost all resource of abundant living. Her husband dies, her sons die. It's easy and understandable how she would start to think God has abandoned me. God started showing glimpses of kindness. Ruth connected herself with Naomi. They came home. Naomi gives a declaration, I am empty, I am bitter. God is testifying against me. But we see here, It provides. Not only that friend, Ruth, that she needs, not only the food, but He's going to provide a Redeemer. Boaz will marry Ruth, and they're going to have a child. And this is a sign of blessing, because the child that Ruth is going to have is not just any son. He is a special son. See, if you go over to Genesis 3.15, you're gonna see the first promise of a son. A son is promised who's going to crush. It's promised to Satan. God says, Satan, I'm going to have a son of Eve born, and he's going to crush your head. We also see that a son is promised all the way back in Matthew 1.25, and he's born. From Genesis 3.15 in the garden to Matthew 1.25 in Bethlehem, there's a continued promise fulfillment of the son, and right in the middle is Ruth. The scarlet thread of God providing the son who's going to reverse the curse goes straight through Ruth. And that's not the only one. It's the promised king. that God is going to put a king on the throne of Israel who's going to rule his people with grace and goodness and righteousness. That's not the only Scarlet Thread. There's a promise of redemption when God took Israel out of Egypt that was like how God is going to deliver us from sin and evil and death and judgment. The Redeemer is a Scarlet Thread that runs through this very sweet short book. And one last thread, Jesus being the true bridegroom. It's foreshadowed in Genesis 2. It's revealed clearly that the mystery is revealed in Ephesians 5. God is going to provide the perfect lover of our souls who's going to redeem us from our sins. This little four chapter book pictures perfectly how God provides everything we need, especially when we view him in light of our suffering. So Christian, the only choice we have is to stand back and rejoice. God's steadfast love never fails. God's steadfast love never fails. He is able to do what He wants to do, and He's committed Himself to a people. It's a perfect plan of salvation as we step back from Ruth and see what He's doing here. Seek refuge in Him. Seek the kind of comfort that only Christ can provide. Rejoice. at the invitation that we can find refuge in Christ. It's amazing, in the truth of the Christian life, we have to embrace a theology of the cross. A theology of the cross teaches that God reveals himself most clearly and most lovingly in the midst of darkness and suffering. You see the greatest love of God when you look at the cross. We want a theology of glory that says, well, I wanna see God's love and all the blessings that he gives me abundantly in the way that I think he should be doing it. No, God shows us his greatest love in the midst of our suffering. So Christian, I exhort you, count it all joy. when you face trials of various kinds. We've heard that once, but we need to end there. And that's not easy to say, it's certainly not easy to do. But when we look at the steadfast love of God, He is with us, He is for us, He is the Father of lights from whom every good gift comes. We can count it all joy. If you're not a Christian this morning, If you're in a trial, if you're in difficulty, the temptation is to look in and you're only gonna find more darkness and confusion. Help comes from the outside. Look up to Christ who suffered for your sins that he did not commit, who died in your place so that you can be forgiven, so that you can be restored. Let us pause and consider how great God is and his power and love provide for us.