Friend in Need
Ben Roberts

Whether we say it aloud or not, we all have expectations that God will continually pour out blessings into our lives.  And for some, that may be their experience. But… To quote the great theologian Jack Nicholson:

 "Some of us have great stories, pretty stories that take place at lakes, with boats and friends and noodle salad. Just no one in this car. But, a lot of people, that's their story; good times, noodle salad"

--As Good as It Gets, 1997

But for most of us, faith in God is a slog.  We pray for blessings, but our daily lives feel under a curse.  

This month, we are reflecting on the musical Shrek and its parallels in the Bible. The musical opens with the character Donkey fleeing from the evil Lord Farquaad's goons. He finds himself in a swamp where he befriends an unlikely ally, Shrek, a prickly ogre. Through their friendship, they overcome adversity and transform their magical kingdom.

The Bible tells of many unlikely friendships. None better in my estimation than that of Ruth and Naomi. Like Shrek and Donkey, Ruth and Naomi find their fates thrown together during hard times. Naomi and her husband lived in Bethlehem but had to flee because of famine.  

Yep, you heard me right. They were in Bethlehem, “the Promise Land,” which happened to be experiencing a famine. So much for milk and honey.

The couple flees to Moab where their two sons marry local women. If being a refuge weren’t bad enough, Naomi’s husband and her two sons ALL DIE. Naomi was forced to return to her homeland, making her in effect a double refugee.

Naomi instructs her daughters-in-law to return to their families of origin. But one of her daughters in law, Naomi, stubbornly refuses.

 But Ruth said, “Don’t force me to leave you; don’t make me go home. Where you go, I go; and where you live, I’ll live. Your people are my people, your God is my god; where you die, I’ll die, and that’s where I’ll be buried, so help me God—not even death itself is going to come between us!”

--Ruth 1:16-17, The Message

Like the musical Shrek, the story of Ruth has a happy ending. Ruth counts among her dependences another famous resident of Bethlehem, you know him as Jesus.

But before the happy ending, there is often pain and darkness.  

On many occasions I have found myself in a desperate situation calling on God for a miracle. I have yet to encounter my first miracle. But if I look back on some of the hard times, while there was never a miraculous solution, there were always friends to hold me up. People who stood by me when I could offer them nothing.

As Pastor Chris is so fond of saying at the Lord’s Table, AT THE RIGHT TIME, God sends us help. Friends.  Companions. We may think we’re alone, but in my experience, that is rarely the case. At the right time God sends a Naomi or a Donkey who walks beside us. They don’t necessarily fix the situation, but their friendship moves us forward.

Prayer: 
God we are surrounded by people in need.  Open our eyes.  Help us to see who is in need and give us wisdom as to how to help, even if that just means walking beside them.  Help us to live out your command to love our neighbors as ourselves. Amen.