A heart like Ruth

The story of Ruth is one of my favorites! Her story is not perfect. It’s messy, it’s complicated..it’s real! It’s relatable! There are so many gems to take from this short passage and so many principles we can apply to our own lives from her courageous journey. I had the honor of speaking to a beautiful group of ladies on Ruth last year and this is the “blog” or very short version of that message.

Ruth was not your typical, religious, churchgoing lady. She came from the Moabite tribe, a people who didn’t know God or serve him in any way. They served idols, false gods, and they were a product of sin. Ruth married a man from the Israelite tribe, built on the one true living God, however his family left their home due to a famine and ended up living among the Moabite’s. Ruth began a journey to her destiny and by no means was her journey an easy one.

God had a plan for her life but I’m sure there were many times she wondered what it all meant. Do you ever wonder what it all means? Everything going on in your world? Does the journey look scary at times? Sometimes our journeys to where God is taking us look a lot like Ruth’s. Bumpy, curvy, and feels like we’re in the fast lane with zero control. Instead of focusing on our own abilities, our own worth, and what we can see, we need to start focusing on God’s plan and purpose! We need to open our eyes, hearts, souls, and minds to his ways. We need to be steadfast, committed, and hopeful for what he is doing.

After Ruth’s husband died, she journeyed back to his home land with his mother, a women that was completely miserable and grieving from her own losses. They make it to the promise land with no food, no place to stay and things look really bad. Ruth ends up following the harvesters in the fields, picking up the scraps left behind, just so she and her mother in law can survive. While living off the scraps of the field, God continues setting her up for her destiny. Through a series of events, God starts turning this mess in to something beautiful, he starts revealing his plan and bringing it to fullness! (You should definitely read the story if you haven’t, it’s amazing)! She finds favor and love from Boaz, the richest man in the land. The one who owns the land she scraped from. He marries her and gives her everything she could ever want or need.

Because of Ruth’s determination, commitment, pure heart, and pure motives, God blesses her life abundantly. He didn’t give her what she needed to survive, he gave her the very land she walked on. This reminds me of a scripture – Deuteronomy 11:24 that says “Every place where you set your foot will be yours…” When we are walking in the will of God, he will expand our territory. He will give us more than we can ask or think possible! We just have to stay committed to him. Whether we are scraping by, or in the spotlight, we must continue serving and standing firm in who God is.

God used Ruth in so many ways and greatness was born through her. King David is one example of the lineage and power that came from Ruth. Yes, THE King David! The boy known for killing Goliath with a stone. The Psalmist who went on to become the most powerful king of his time. David’s life wasn’t perfect either, that’s another story for another time but it’s another reminder that God uses the broken, the weak, and those who don’t look like much on the outside. God will always bring his plan to pass. There would have been a King David whether Ruth followed Gods plan or not but why not do it through Ruth? If she was willing, then why not her?

Ruth’s story is a reminder that no matter how bad or how hard life gets, we must keep going and never turn back.

Ruth’s story is a reminder that God will finish the work he started.

Ruth’s story is a reminder that God will never leave us and he will never forsake us.

Ruth’s story is a reminder that our redemption or miracle may not come the way we imagined, but it will come.
God is not asking for anything more than our trust and loyalty to him. If we continue walking the path he is leading us on, he will do more than we could ever imagine. When life gets hard or times get tough, don’t turn back! Keep walking with him and let him work in and through you!

I ask you today, are you willing? Are you willing to lay down your own self and follow his plan? If you are, there is no telling what he is going to do through you. Through your lineage. Through your YES.

XXX Alexandrea