Seeing Through the Circumstances

[S] Ruth 1:14b; 2:11-12; 2 Corinthians 5:7 --
^14bbut Ruth clung to her.

¹¹Boaz replied to her, "All that you have done for your mother-in-law after the death of your husband has been fully reported to me, and how you left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and came to a people that you did not previously know.
¹²"May the LORD reward your work, and your wages be full from the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to seek refuge."

⁷for we walk by faith, not by sight

[O] Ruth found herself cornered by the unfairness of life's course where she had simply lost everything she had leaving her the choice of going on to find a new start by seeking another husband in her homeland of Moab or to stay with her mother-in-law, Naomi, who is about to return to the land of Judah after losing everything herself. Naomi wasn't quite full of hope and joy either as she faces the uncertainty of the future back in her homeland. In fact, in verse 1:13 she displays her bitterness: for the hand of the LORD has gone forth against me.

It is at this crossroads Ruth made up her mind to cling to Naomi. She was able to see through the despairing circumstance with her eyes of faith not by her own sight (2 Corinthians 5:7) to make a commitment that seemed unwise and impractical. However, her choice was the same one Mary made who desired to stay at the foot of Jesus as well as the one the disciples of Jesus (except Judas Iscariot) have made first to follow His calling in the beginning of Jesus' ministry and then to truly surrender all they had in order to seek refuge under His wings for the sake of passing on the Love of God to the ends of the earth.

[A] Every choice I make will last eternity and that's why I need to make them cautiously by seeking His wisdom. I need to be careful not to see into my circumstances with my own sight too much causing me to stumble my walk of faith. I need to remember the awesome choice Ruth had made at the crossroads she found herself in because that choice is what made her the Ruth whose faith was recognized by Boaz and his people as well as in the end made her the great grandmother of King David through whose lineage Jesus Christ was brought to this world.

[P] Dear God, the life of Ruth and her testimony touches me every time and encourages me to live a life full of choices which God can use to make a wonderful history. May You grant me the wisdom and the "clinging" faith especially during the difficult and hopeless times of my life. In Jesus' name. Amen.