Nothing Just Happens

This summary provides an expert analysis of the theological and prophetic message that underscores God’s complete sovereignty, arguing that “nothing just happens” in the life of a believer. Drawing primarily from the Book of Ruth, the message encourages readers to recognize God’s intentional design even amidst severe personal loss, betrayal, and time limitations.

I. The Sovereign Truth: Nothing Just Happens

The central and repeatedly emphasized assertion is that God is in complete control, and every event in life—including mistakes, trouble, pain, and betrayal—occurs under the banner of His will. God never sleeps or slumbers, and He did not fall asleep on the job allowing the devil to wreck circumstances.

• Divine Orchestration: The steps of a good person are ordered by the Lord. God is depicted as a “puppet master pulling strings” behind the curtain of life, leading individuals toward their destiny.
• Irrefutable Will: Whatever God has predetermined to happen will come to pass, and no force, including the devil, has ever been able to abort the purpose of God. Even when a person utilizes their human will and acts as a “free moral agent,” their choice is not strong enough to change God’s divine will. God possesses the power to make individuals yield to His will.
• Certainty in Chaos: This principle applies to the most damnable, embarrassing, impoverished, financially depleting, or scandalous things that have ever happened in a person’s life. Even if loved ones walked out or betrayal occurred at the highest level, the answer is to “Shout nothing”. Shouting “nothing” is a direct statement to the devil that he is not in charge and that he will not win.

II. The Biblical Template: The Book of Ruth

The Book of Ruth is presented as a crucial template for a larger issue, loaded with shadows and types that point to the panoramic view of the life and fulfillment of Jesus Christ.

Loss and Bitterness (Naomi and Elimelech)

The story begins with a family headed by Elimelech (IMC) who leaves Bethlehem, the House of Bread, due to a severe famine, fleeing to Moab for survival.

• The Famine and Flight: Elimelech was strong enough to lead his wife, Naomi, and their two sons out of Bethlehem, but he died in Moab after a short stay of 10 years.
• Total Depletion: Naomi, already widowed in a foreign country, subsequently loses both of her sons within 10 years, suffering the loss of every man she had ever loved. Exasperated, she decides to return home, making the bitter statement: “I went out full and I came back empty”.
• The Widowhood of Israel: Naomi is interpreted as a type of Israel who became bitter, having lost relationship with Jehovah. In the midst of her famine, she did not appreciate what she still had (her husband and children) until she lost them, making the famine seem insignificant by comparison.

The Trinity of Pain and Relatability

Naomi, along with her two daughters-in-law, Ruth and Orpah, forms a “feminine Trinity” whose only shared commonality is pain and death.

• Pain as a Company Keeper: Pain is a “strange company keeper” that creates a secret fraternity transcending skin color and background among those who have suffered similar experiences. Sharing loss, emptiness, and tears brings disparate people together.

The Crisis of Time and Opportunity

Upon deciding to return to Bethlehem, Naomi starts reasoning with her daughters-in-law, asserting that the “clock is against me”. She suggests she has no time left to remarry and bear new sons, arguing that the younger women cannot wait for new children to grow up and become their husbands. This feeling of running out of time—when wrinkles appear and the body sags—can lead to bitterness, desperation, and pushing people away.

III. The Destiny of Connection: Letting Walkers Walk

At the crossroads, Orpah walks away and returns to her home, while Ruth chooses radical commitment to Naomi.

• Let Them Walk: A crucial lesson is provided: when people can walk away from you, let them walk. The preacher asserts that destiny is never tied to anybody that left. Attempts to force people to stay, love, or care for you are fruitless.
• The Proof of Departure: People leave because they are not joined to you. The Bible explains that “they came out from us that it might be made manifest that they were not of us, for had they been of us no doubt they would have continued with us”.
• The Power of Being Joined: Ruth, a Moabit woman (a type of the Church), commits to Naomi (Israel), declaring, “as the Lord liveth I shall not leave thee”. This demonstrates the incredible power of being joined together, even without blood relation, when destiny is sensed.
• Destiny Connections: Historical examples include Elisha leaving his family to follow Elijah, sensing his destiny was tied to the older prophet, and Timothy ministering to Paul in prison, understanding that he “will never be who I was meant to be without you in my life”. These connections are not accidental; they are ordered by God.

IV. Fulfillment and Transformation

The Book of Ruth reveals God’s ultimate intention for connection and fulfillment.

• Church Connected to God: Ruth, representing the Church, gets connected to God through Israel (Naomi), who walks her back home to Boaz, a type of Christ.
• Legitimization by Christ: Boaz sees Ruth “gleaning in the corners of the field,” brings her to the forefront, covers her with his skirts, makes her his wife, and legitimizes her. Because his blood prevails over hers, she becomes an heir of a grace from which she would have been estranged.
• Divine Provision: God has a way of choosing to bless individuals, such as ensuring that nobody can buy a specific house except the one He intends it for.

V. The Power of Divine Will Over Rebellion (The Jonah Principle)

The sovereignty of God extends even over human rebellion, as demonstrated by the prophet Jonah.

• Will Over Disobedience: Jonah was commanded to go to Nineveh but instead headed for Tarshish, explicitly not obeying God. Yet, he was still “up under the banner of his will,” even while going the wrong way and being thrown off the boat.
• Sustained in Chaos: God orchestrated a big fish to be swimming by the boat to swallow Jonah. The fish carried him to the bottom of the mountains for three days, but God sustained him.
• Christological Fulfillment: Thousands of years later, Christ affirmed this event, stating: “even as Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days, so shall the Son of Man be in the grave”. Jonah’s rebellious journey was essential for a future prophetic fulfillment.