Tag: Faith of a Mustard Seed

““¹Now the Lord said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. ²And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. ³I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’ ⁴So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.” ~ Genesis 12:1-4

God promised Abraham descendants, that he would be made into a great nation… but he was in his old age, and Sarah, his wife, was barren. Abraham could have easily given up on this promise, but he didn’t. Now sure he made some mistakes along the way, but he never gave up on that promise. He may not have gotten 100 on the test, but he definitely passed. And that’s the key, he didn’t give up, though he did succumb to the temptation his wife put in before him. Don’t get the wrong idea this isn’t just Sarah’s fault, Abraham is the head of his household he should have corrected Sarah like Adam should have corrected Eve.

There’s a pattern in the bible… Sometimes men are weak. Men, you’re supposed to be the head if you fall, we fall… And woman sometimes we need to just sit back and let God do as He has promised… Sometimes as women, we try to control things because we don’t want to wait… The decisions we make today will affect the generations to come.

Exodus 34:7 says, “[God keeps] steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.” And Abraham’s sin has caused his descendants to suffer both the Arabs and the Jews. But the good thing is even though we, both men and women, are impatient, and think we know best, God still says, ‘these are my children. Sure they’ve got a couple cuts and bruises here and there from disobedience, and sure they go left when I tell them right. But they’re my children, and I will never give up on them. I won’t forget them, but instead, I will slowly pull them back to Me. I would do anything for them because I love them. Though they do not deserve my love or my forgiveness, I will send them my Son, my one and only Son. He will be their deliverer. He will be the final sacrifice because He is the perfect sacrifice. And they will be spared if they only accept My Son.’

We have to learn to trust God. We have to learn to follow God. We have to learn to seek God, if not for ourselves, for our children. What we do today, affects what happens to not only us but everyone around us, tomorrow. We aren’t the only ones that our decisions affect. We have to learn how to trust God and understand that His plans for our lives are the best. We have to understand that God’s path is the best path, though it may not seem plausible, it may not make sense, it may not be the easiest, but it is the best way. It is the right way. We have to learn as both men and women, to stand firm in the promise God has given to each of us. We have to learn how to trust God and His plans. We have to learn how to have faith in God when it seems difficult. We have to learn how to let go and let God. We have to learn how to give up control so that God can lead us into our promise.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Let Go.

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“¹Then Naomi, her mother-in-law, said to her, ‘My daughter, should I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you? ²Is, not Boaz our relative, with whose young women you were? See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. ³Wash therefore and anoint yourself, and put on your cloak and go down to the threshing floor, but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. ⁴But when he lies down, observe the place where he lies. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down, and he will tell you what to do.’ ⁵And she replied, ‘All that you say I will do.’

⁶So she went down to the threshing floor and did just as her mother-in-law had commanded her. ⁷And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. Then she came softly and uncovered his feet and lay down. ⁸At midnight the man was startled and turned over, and behold, a woman lay at his feet!” ~ Ruth 3:1-8

Naomi told Ruth to go, once Boaz had finished eating and was asleep, uncover Boaz’s feet and lay next to him as he was sleeping. Without hesitation or questioning, Ruth went and did as she was told. Imagine if we had the same obedience as Ruth did when God tells us to do something. Imagine if we obeyed God no matter what today’s culture or society tells us. Imagine if we obeyed God and ignored our laziness, our shyness, our fear, our doubt, our flesh. What type of miracles would we see happen? What kind of breakthrough would we have?

What’s keeping you from absolute obedience? What’s hindering your faith? Obedience is better than sacrifice. If we could only obey… but our flesh is weak. How then can we strengthen our flesh? We must strengthen our Spirit Man. How then can we strengthen our Spirit Man? Daily prayer and meditation on God’s word. Not yoga meditation, but meditation on God’s Word. Sitting in His presence allowing Him to speak to us through His written word. When we pray, meditate, and worship we strengthen our Spirit Man. When we strengthen our Spirit Man, we are able to crucify the evil flesh and strengthen the good flesh. Once our flesh is strengthened our actions will more so follow the gentle guidance of Holy Spirit.

Just as Ruth believed Naomi knew better than she did, we should believe that God knows better than we do. When we believe in God’s goodness, faithfulness, and wisdom as Ruth believed in Naomi’s, we reap harvests like never before. We see miracles take place. We see prayers answered. We see blessings poured upon us, just as Ruth did. I believe because of her obedience and faith, Ruth was blessed. For the Savior of the entire world came through a non-Jew. The promise came through Ruth’s descendants. Ruth was grafted into the promise because of her obedience and her faith. How will God use you with your obedience?

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Be Obedient.

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⁴So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah into the field where his flock was ⁵and said to them, “I see that your father does not regard me with favor as he did before. But the God of my father has been with me. ⁶You know that I have served your father with all my strength, ⁷yet your father has cheated me and changed my wages ten times. But God did not permit him to harm me. ⁸If he said, ‘The spotted shall be your wages,’ then all the flock bore spotted; and if he said, ‘The striped shall be your wages,’ then all the flock bore striped. ⁹Thus God has taken away the livestock of your father and given them to me.

¹⁰In the breeding season of the flock I lifted up my eyes and saw in a dream that the goats that mated with the flock were striped, spotted, and mottled. ¹¹Then the angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob,’ and I said, ‘Here I am!’ ¹²And he said, ‘Lift up your eyes and see, all the goats that mate with the flock are striped, spotted, and mottled, for I have seen all that Laban is doing to you. ¹³I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and made a vow to me. Now arise, go out from this land and return to the land of your kindred.'” ~ Genesis 31:4-13

No matter what the world does to you if you put your faith and trust in God, He will protect you. He will do what is best for you. See Jacob didn’t get mad at Laban or try to fight his sons, but instead, he allowed God to fight his battles. He didn’t take it up with Laban and argue over what he thought he deserved he left it in God’s hands. I wonder what would be different in our lives if we just allow God to fight for us if we allow “Vengeance to be His” and remember and live by the fact that “God will fight for us, we need only be still.”

Imagine how much more blessings we would inherit. How many more opportunities we would receive. How many more doors would be open to us, if we would just “be still and know that He is God.” I’m not saying life would be easy; I’m saying imagine how much more you would get out of it. You want favor in your workplace, school, even church, allow God to fight your battles instead of you taking things into your own hands.

Peace. Love. Go forth and Be Still.

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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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