Running To Reality

January 01, 2025

Michael Boyd

Running To Reality LISTEN ON MIXLR @ https://gbcsl.mixlr.com WATCH US ON YOUTUBE LIVE @ http://www.youtube.com/gracechurch-slus/live Three realities to navigate grief in the graces of God In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. The name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other was Ruth. They lived there about ten years, and both Mahlon and Chilion died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband. Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the fields of Moab that the Lord had visited his people and given them food (Ruth 1:1-6) I Life is full of grief. Judges 21:25: In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes Isaiah 53:3 He was despised and rejected[b] by men a man of sorrows and acquainted with[d] grief and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Romans 8:26 6 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. John 11:35 Jesus wept We have a God who weeps because we have a God who loves, and grief is the price of love II Our instincts are often dangerous Red Flags A Elimelech leaves the Promised Land B Where Elimelech is going C Elimelech is abandoning the covenant There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death. (Proverbs 14:12) Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding (Proverbs 3:5-6) III Sometimes going back is actually the way forward 1 We let our pride die 2 We let our self-reliance die 3 We let our stubbornness die 4 We let our bitterness die 5 We let our guardedness die Grace Baptist Church Podcast HTTPS://PODPOINT.COM/GRACE-BAPTIST-CHURCH-OF-SECOND-LIFE-PODCAST WEBSITE https://gracebaptistofsecondlife.godaddysites.com