You have survived 100% of your worst days ever...

 Read Ruth 4

Naomi means pleasant or pleasantness.  She wanted to be called Mara because Mara it meant bitter and surely the Lord was unhappy with her.

She was having a poor, poor, pitiful me moment or series of moments. She was ready to throw in the towel.

But she didn’t.

She returned to her country, to the land of God’s Chosen People.

She brought a daughter-in-law with her who said she would follow her and her God—the one true God.

She gave Ruth very explicit instructions on how to present herself to Boaz—a man eligible to redeem them and a godly man.

She is now taken care of in the way set forth by God and still honored by his people.

And here is the kicker. At the end of this short book, Naomi was holding a baby in her arms and rejoicing with the other women. She was holding Obed who would father Jessee who would father David, who would be king.

OBTW—that line keeps on going and brings us the Christ.

So, just for the moment, consider Naomi’s experience and realize that you have survived 100% of your worst days ever.

Naomi had to leave her home country just to survive. She lost her husband. She lost 2 sons. She was a widowed woman in a man’s world in a foreign country when we first met her.

She surely had a shirt or whole wardrobe that said: WORST DAY EVER, and got to wear it frequently.

But we find her with a baby in her arms rejoicing with the other women as we conclude this book. She made it. She survived this very unhappy journey. She made it.

Do you remember Hagar after Abraham kicked her to the curb—sent her into the wilderness? She had thrown in the towel, but an angel told her that God would provide for her and her son. He would even become great and have many children.

She survived, and then some.

Naomi survived. We don’t see repentance over her bad attitude. We don’t see a testimony as to how God used everything for the good.

She survived and became full of joy.

What did the psalmist tell us? Sorrow may last for the night but joy comes in the morning.

Your pain and your sorrow may seem overwhelming right now, but morning is coming.

Your struggles and efforts to keep the faith seem insurmountable at the moment, but morning is coming.

The physical struggles, mental anguish, and emotional baggage that comes with so much coming at us for so long, make us consider just giving up.

We become stoic.

We harden our hearts.

We hedge our bets on this prayer stuff and start bargaining with God.

Or, and this is a big or:

We take one more step forward trusting in God. We might not be happy about our situation but we trust in the Lord and keep on going.

You may or may not be able to imagine some of the conversations that I have in any given week. More than half—probably pushing three-fourths are with people who do not or seldom attend here.  These words come up frequently.

Terminal cancer.

Nursing home.

Water shut off.

Power shut off.

Can’t afford to fix my heat or air.

No job.

The marriage is over.

House burned down.

Somebody close to me died.

I got fired.

Somebody is in jail.

Car is broken.

Car was repossessed.

And many of these things come in combinations—an unhappy meal if you will. I will have the broken car, water shutoff, and marriage on the rocks. Upside the fries, I need to clog my arteries to really make this the worst day ever.

Where do many people go when they don’t trust the Author of their story?

Seek refuge in drugs or alcohol.

Hold an ongoing pity party.

Become bitter.

Become apathetic.

Quit their jobs.

Quit trying to parent.

Join the Complainers Union.

Throw in the towel on hope.

And yet, everyone with whom I talked has survived their worst days ever. 

I have seen this in meme form in a few places with a few variants all of which say don’t give up. Remind yourself that you have survived 100% of your worst days ever.

This is Memorial Day weekend. Memorial Day is to remember those who gave the last full measure of devotion.

The timid mourn the death of those who gave their lives for them. Those warriors who remain celebrate that these men and women once lived.

Today, as we navigate and negotiate our lives, I remind you that we are among the living. Nobody has draped a flag over your coffin yet.

You have been given today. You made it.

At my 50^th high school reunion, we noted that 11 out of 44 in our graduating class had already passed. Some said we have lost a fourth. That’s a true statement, but so is we still have 75% here today.

Let’s remember those who have gone before us but celebrate that we are here now.

God still has something for you to do as part of being known as his follower by your love. You still have something to do to bring glory to his name.

I missed seeing a close friend from long ago who said he would be there at the alumni. He would not respond to calls or texts. After getting in touch with his brother, I found out that he was hospitalized with cirrhosis of the liver.

That was bad news but worse was that he had a picture. This man who was the same age as me looked 30 years older and like he had already been embalmed.

I have had some stuff happen to me, but this photo said WORST DAY EVER.

Our class held a time for prayer for him. He is home now, but far from recovered. Prayers continue, but he made it. He survived that worst day ever.

When I saw the picture, my thoughts went to traveling to Arkansas for his funeral. But he is still here. He survived what I thought was a worst day ever and he had to live it.

Sorrow may last for the night but joy comes in the morning.

For some, that joy is to be with the Lord.

For some, it’s miraculous healing and a testimony to give.

For some, it seems like we just keep putting one foot in front of the other not sure when this trial will end. But we do press on.

You are here. You made it this far. You didn’t come this far to throw in the towel.

God has good plans for you.

God will never stop loving you.

You are his for all eternity.

Celebrate the fact that you have this day of life.

Do not become bitter over your trials. God will use them for good.

Do not give up on your walk of faith. With every step you take towards God, he is faithful to come towards you. I’m sure he takes bigger steps.

Do not become weary. Harvest is coming. Joy is coming. The fullness of life is still here for us.

Some of you know the Casting Crowns song, Thrive. Consider this part of the lyrics.

We know we were made for so much more

Than ordinary lives

It's time for us to more than just survive

We were made to thrive

You survived to see another day. Now live it to the full. Lean into life. Press on. Thrive.

Don’t quit.

Don’t get bitter.

Don’t get cynical.

Don’t give up.

You made it this far. God has more for you. In hindsight, you will think of most of these trials as small stuff. Maybe not now, but one day, your trials will be nothing to the glory that you know in the presence of the Lord.

You made it this far. You survived 100% of your worst days ever.  Press on.

Amen.