This “so that” moment has helped me deal with death in a whole new light. I can never look at death the same after the Holy Spirit revealed this revelation to me. My prayer is that you find comfort and peace in knowing that God’s got you in the palm of His hands.
I want you to imagine for one second that you’ve married the man of your dreams who has given you two wonderful sons. You’re both from a little town in Georgia and everything is going great. Married life with children is just as you imagined.
You have two sons that are now growing into fine young men and life is peachy!
Until…a pandemic hits Georgia, there is no food on the shelves, there is nothing to eat anywhere, no water in sight. You pack up the family, grab everything you can that will fit in your one car, and head south to Florida hoping to find a place that has food and water. (Side note: before 2020 I would think you’re crazy lol)
The Lord has watched over you and your family as you traveled and you safely arrive in Florida to find that there is, in fact, food and water.
Praise the Lord!
You’ve settled in with your husband and two sons when tragedy strikes!
The man of your dreams, the one who has provided for you and been the amazing father to your sons, passes away.
He’s gone! Just like that! Now it’s just you and your boys. A Momma and her sons.
Your boys have turned into respectful young men, who marry two beautiful young women that have hearts of gold. They are like the daughters you never had and you love them as if they were your own.
Of course, you’re dreaming of all the grandchildren they will give you and your heart is full.
Until tragedy strikes again and you don’t lose one son, you lose them both!
All you have in this world is gone! Ripped from you!
You cry out to God and scream WHY? Did you have to take them all from me?
The Lord whispers back and says, “It’s so that…my plans and purposes can be fulfilled.”
If you’ve never read the story of Naomi and Ruth, the above story is their story, well in a way. 😉
To me, this story is one of God’s ultimate “so that” moments in scripture.
Grab your bible, open it to Ruth Chapter 1, and let’s go on a “so that” journey like no other. One that leads to ultimate salvation!
You see, Naomi and her husband Elimelech use to live in Bethlehem with their two sons, Mahlon and Chilion. There was a famine in Bethlehem (Georgia in the above story) and the food was scarce so they decided to pack up all their belongings, load it on a donkey (their one car), and head to another city.
They came to Moab (Florida) and found food, shelter, and settled in.
Then tragedy struck and Naomi lost her husband Elimelech.
It doesn’t say how long they lived there until her sons met their wives but scripture does state that they were married for about 10 years until both of the sons died as well.
Now I don’t know about you but if I was Naomi I would be crying out to God asking Him why did He take not only my husband but both of my sons?
I would be wondering if I was cursed or was there a generational curse that was never broken? Did I sin against the Lord and this was my punishment?
Or was it simply the way it was supposed to be?
Let’s continue on with the story…
Naomi is left in a land where she has no family and decides it’s time to head back to Bethlehem, Judah where her support system is. However, her two daughters-in-law, Ruth and Orpah decide they will go with her. As they set out, Naomi feels that it’s best that her daughters-in-law head back to their own families but they both refuse. Naomi tells them again that they need to head home and this time Orpah kisses her mother-in-law goodbye and heads home.
Ruth, on the other hand, tells Naomi,
“Entreat[e] me not to leave you,
Or to turn back from following after you;
For wherever you go, I will go;
And wherever you lodge, I will lodge;
Your people shall be my people,
And your God, my God.
17 Where you die, I will die,
And there will I be buried.
The Lord do so to me, and more also,
If anything but death parts you and me.” – Ruth 1:16&17
What an amazing relationship between a mother-in-law and her daughter-in-law!
Naomi knew at that point that Ruth would follow her anywhere so they headed back to Naomi’s homeland.
While in Bethlehem lots of things transpired but the biggest one of all was that while out in the fields Ruth meets Boaz. You see Boaz, was a relative of Naomi’s husband Elimelech and he was very wealthy and owned much land.
There is so much history with a redemptive story in the book of Ruth. I highly recommend you go read it all.
But the greatest twist of this story comes when Boaz and Ruth marry and have children.
Why you might ask?
Here comes the “so that” moment…
If Naomi’s husband would have never died she might have stayed in Moab forever with her husband and two sons.
If her sons had never died, she might have stayed in Moab and lived there with her sons and daughters-in-law.
But in order for God’s ultimate plans and purposes to come to pass, Naomi’s husband and two sons had to pass “so that” Ruth would follow her back to Bethlehem “so that” she could meet, marry and have children with Boaz!
Why is this so important?
Because it is from the line of Ruth and Boaz that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ came from!
How crazy is that? To this day it still blows my mind.
I Can Never Look at Death the Same
Since doing this study and the Holy Spirit revealing this “so that” moment to me, I can never look at death the same again.
I think of my mom’s passing and I look at all the beautiful “so that” moments that have happened since she’s left us. Moments that would have never happened if the Lord had not called her home.
I think of my brother’s death and look at all the “so that” moments that have happened since then and it just blows me away.
Please don’t think that I’m downplaying death at all. I’m not. To watch both my mother and brother pass away from cancer has been the hardest thing in my life.
I’m realizing that with these “so that” moments they are not fun to go through. They are heartbreaking, soul-crushing moments that could break you if you allow them too.
But as a born again believer, saved by the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, child of the Most High God, filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, no longer under any curses, you can look at these moments and know that Victory is yours!
God will be glorified in your circumstance and all will know that Yahweh is the one true God. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and He is YOUR Daddy!
Can you look back and see some of God’s “so that” moments in your life? Those moments that you just knew would crush you but looking back now you can see that it had to happen “so that” something better could happen?
If so, I would love to hear about them. Share in the comments, or send me an email.
Until next God’s “so that” moment…
Y’all Be Blessed,
Audrey
