hear the celebration in Bethlehem from miles away. Naomi and Ruth are walking into a situation that’s a complete 180 from what they have just gone through. What the author is telling us is that Ruth and Naomi are literally stepping out of one season of pain into a new season of rejoicing! Pain is temporary. Don’t ever forget that pain is a season. This is what David found out. David, Ruth’s great- grandson, went through intense pain in his life. He was on the run from a king who was trying to kill him. He lost a baby and had his best friend and son turn against him. And yet David says in Psalm 30 that weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. My little wife, Korie, has given birth to three big-headed boys, all natural. I was there to see her writhing in agony, feeling the painful fullness of every contraction and push. I have a ripped shirt to testify of my presence! And yet, after having our first two kids and all that pain, she wanted to do it again. Why? First, she knew the pain was temporary. Those contractions and labor pains were only for a season. But secondly, and more importantly, she wanted to do it again because of what was on the other side—the joy of holding a child. When she saw what was on the other side, it allowed her to go through the pain, stewarding it well. Jesus endured the pain of the cross, where He was beaten with a whip, crowned with a crown of thorns bloodying His skull, had His beard plucked out, nails in His hands and feet, and a spear run through His side. So why did Jesus do it? The writer of Hebrews tells us that He did it because of the joy that was set before Him. What was that joy? You and I coming to faith in Jesus Christ! Spiritual birth is why He went through the pain and agony, so that you and I could experience the barley harvest of eternal life with Him in heaven where there will be no tears. This first chapter of Ruth shows us a valuable lesson when it comes to having a relationship with God: God often uses pain in our lives to move us into our greatest purpose, and that is a relationship with Him. Ruth gets saved in our text because of this. After losing her own husband and enduring pain, Ruth comes to faith in God. What brought her to faith? Pain and suffering. One of the most helpful things God could ever do to us is to allow pain in our lives so that we turn to him.  32 WWW.CITYGATENETWORK.ORG MARCH/APRIL 2019 What the author is telling us is that Ruth and Naomi are literally stepping out of one season of pain into a new season of rejoicing! Pain is temporary.