Hello lovelies! One of my favourite Bible stories is the story of Ruth. She begins as a very unlikely heroine, but she later becomes the great-grandmother of King David and an ancestor of Jesus. Her story teaches us to have faith in God even in the most difficult of circumstances.
Read on to learn what Ruth teaches us about faith.
Faith will cost us.
The story of Ruth begins with a Jewish family in crisis. Due to a famine, they leave Israel and move to Moab. The family’s two sons both marry local women, named Orpah and Ruth.
Over the next ten years, the father and sons tragically die, leaving three widows alone in poverty. The Jewish mother, Naomi, decides to return to Israel. Her daughters-in-law set out with her, but she tells them to go back to Moab so they could find new husbands. Orphah listens, but Ruth refuses to leave Naomi.
In Ruth’s famous words (which are often quoted at weddings), she tells Naomi that she trusts in the one true God of Israel. Ruth has genuine faith, and she is willing to leave home, family, and country to seek God.
“And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the Lord do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.”
If you have true faith in God, you will have to pay the cost of time, energy, and yielding your life to God. But your sacrifice will be well worth it!
Faith trusts God in the middle of the story.
After Ruth and Naomi reach Israel, one would hope that things would go smoothly. But Ruth and Naomi were poor, and Ruth had to glean grain in the fields of wealthy landowners. God provided for them, but they didn’t have much.
In God’s providence, Ruth went to a field owned by a relative of Naomi. He noticed her and treated her with kindness and respect.
After learning of this, Naomi told Ruth to do something very strange. She instructed her to dress up, go to the threshing floor at night, and lie down at Boaz’s feet. To our modern ears, this sounds very sketchy. In reality, it was simply a way of asking Boaz to marry her. But it probably sounded strange to Ruth as well!
But Ruth decided to trust God and follow Naomi’s advice.
If you have faith in God, you’ll need to trust Him even when you don’t understand what He’s doing. You’ll have to believe His Word and obey Him.
Faith in God always has a happy ending.
If you’ve read the book of Ruth, you know that it has a very happy ending! Boaz accepted Ruth’s proposal and was able to marry her. They were blessed with a son named Obed, who was King David’s grandfather. And her name is one of the few Gentile names recorded in the genealogy of Jesus Christ.
If you have faith in God, your story may have some unexpected twists and turns. But you will have a happy ending! In eternity, you will look back and thank God for how He worked in your life. Keep trusting God, and don’t give up when life is hard. God will never leave you or forsake you!
Let’s Chat:
True faith will cost us, and true faith trusts God in the middle of the story. But faith always has a happy ending. God rewards those who trust and obey Him. Will you trust God like Ruth did? What part of her story resonates with you the most? Share your thoughts in the comment section!
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