Category: Faith of a Mustard Seed

⁶Then 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. ⁷So 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. ⁸But 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. ⁹The 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. ¹⁰And they said to her, “No, we will return with you to your people.” ¹¹But 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? ¹²Turn 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, ¹³would 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.” ¹⁴Then they lifted up their voices and wept again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.

¹⁵And she said, “See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” ¹⁶But 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. ¹⁷Where 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.” ¹⁸And when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more. ~ Ruth 1:6-18

Ruth gave up her way of life, her way of thinking, her gods, just to follow Naomi. She wasn’t just loyal to her; she trusted her and had faith in her, that no matter where she would go or take her that it would be the place that they needed to be. They left with no money, no husbands or sons, but yet she still went and took on the culture of Naomi without reassurance that she would be okay. This is the type of faith and loyalty we need because it’s hard to trust God when we can’t see what He sees.

We hesitate even when God tells us to go. If Ruth could have so much faith in a regular woman that could not guarantee her prosperity, why can’t we as Christians let go and follow God wholeheartedly, without doubt? This is something we should strive towards this year; by stepping off on to a branch that doesn’t look safe, but God has promised that it will uphold us. That no matter how sketchy the path looks that we will still go walk the path in faith that this is where and what we should be doing.

We should desire to love like Ruth, that no matter the outcome of the situation, whether she would be poor or rich, it didn’t matter she just wanted to be with Naomi. We should want to love God in that same way, even if we poor, we should desire Him. Even if we are wealthy and well off we should desire Him. Our situation shouldn’t matter, we should still desire to cling to God as if He is the only way we can breathe because He’s the only way we can live.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Be Clingy.

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⁸Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Now, listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women. ⁹Let your eyes be on the field that they are reaping, and go after them. Have I not charged the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn.” ¹⁰Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?” ¹¹But Boaz answered her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told to me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before. ¹²The Lord repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!” ~ Ruth 2:8-12

Ruth was an outsider, a woman not of any status or wealth, but because she worked hard and never gave up, she found favor in the eyes of Boaz. She denied her flesh (tiredness, laziness, pride, etc.) and she strove forward until she completed what she needed to. This is the type of determination we as Christians should desire. We should want to strive towards the things of God so that we find favor with God and all of those that we meet. We should want to seek God wholeheartedly so that we will be able to hear His gentle whisper in the wind. We should want to run this race as if every leg was the last leg of the race and our reward’s in touching distance. May we each have the determination of Ruth. The determination that no matter how our circumstance looks, we can be confident that we will become successful.

Not once did Ruth look at her situation and feel sorry for herself. Not once did Ruth look at who she was, an outsider, and begin to build a victim mentality. Not once did Ruth stop, look around and say that she could not do it. Instead, she was determined to follow her mother-in-law Naomi no matter where she went or what she did. She didn’t question Naomi when things didn’t make sense to her. She didn’t second guess Naomi when things seemed hopeless. She knew that Naomi had her best interest at heart and so she followed wholeheartedly. That’s how we need to be. We have to look at our current situation and believe that God is going to getting us through because He has our best interest at heart. We don’t have to become the victim because we are more than conquerors through Christ Jesus.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Be Determined.

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