Trust Him For His Grace

Sunday, July 5, 2026
Pastor Jojo Ma

Weekly Bulletin | Song Lyrics | Nicene Creed

Ruth 1:6-22

This is the big idea of this short Old Testament book: God rules over His people, even if His actions are often hidden from us.

William Cowper’s “God Moves in a Mysterious Way”

6 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. 7 So she set out from the place where she was with her two daughters-in-law, and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. 8 But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to her mother’s house. May the LORD deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. 9 The LORD grant that you may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband!” Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept. 10 And they said to her, “No, we will return with you to your people.” 11 But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? 12 Turn back, my daughters; go 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 and should bear sons, 13 would you therefore wait till they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, for it is exceedingly bitter to me for your sake that the hand of the LORD has gone out against me.”

8 But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to her mother’s house. May the LORD deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me.”

Who are the kind people in your life? Who can you ask the Lord to bless because of their kindness to you? And are you a kind and caring person?

Gal 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

8…May the LORD deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me.

14 Then they lifted up their voices and wept again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. 15 And she said, “See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” 16 But Ruth said, “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. 17 Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the LORD do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.” 18 And when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more.

Aim to be like Ruth: godly, caring, loyal, committed, and faithful.

16-17 But Ruth said, “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 will I be buried.”

Gen 2:24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

18 And when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more.

19 So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them. And the women said, “Is this Naomi?” 20 She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. 21 I went away full, and the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the LORD has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?” 22 So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabite her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.

First, choose the way of Ruth.
To follow God will mean self-denial, putting the needs and desires of others first, sometimes when their response is not one of gratitude, like Naomi’s. But the Christian life is one of sacrifice and service, one of pouring out for the sake of others.

Second, care about evangelism and mercy.
We at CrossLife care about temporary suffering, but we care especially about eternal suffering.

Do you have a deep, spiritual concern for the “Moabites” all around the San Gabriel Valley?

John Piper: “Missions exists because (true) worship doesn’t.”

“Neigh-burger with the Mas”

The gospel is the priority, but we should be doing good as believers. Mercy and care are great expressions of the gospel in our lives. Let us care about people by doing both temporary and eternal good.

Third, embrace the total sovereignty of God.
Naomi knows three (3) important things about God: He exists, He rules, and He has afflicted her.

13 the hand of the LORD has gone out against me.

20-21 …the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went away full, and the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the LORD has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?

Prov 16:4 The LORD has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble.

Prov 16:33 The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD.

Fourth, walk by faith in God, don’t judge Him by your sight.
God not only rules over you; He walks beside you. You must keep these two in proper balance.

Rom 5:3-5…we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Amid the trials you presently face, do you really think God has no purpose or plans for you? And in these difficult times, in your heart of hearts, will you trash Him…or trust Him?

The cross is the ultimate display of God’s grace and goodness and kindness to you. Always go back to the cross, look at Jesus, day by day by day…and marvel at the deep, deep love of Jesus for us.