Text: Ruth 3:14-18,
Proverbs 31:10-11,
Matthew 22:23-33
Have there been times in your life when youâve felt a strong call by the Lord to pursue something? I have. I often start strong, feeling bold and excited, my heart ready and willing to obey. I canât help but think, This is it! This is the moment life changes because I said yes!
Then, inevitably, a bend or a bump in the smooth, straight road I envisioned leaves me doubting. But wait. I said yes. I was obedient. So why is this still so hard?
Ruth has said all the right yeses in her story. She has been faithful to her mother-in-law Naomi in many ways, but especially so where Boaz is concerned. Ruth has truly put herself out there in trust, and it seems everything has been leading up to this moment.
What a surprise it must have been to be told simply to waitâand not for a certain amount of time, but indefinitely. (Indefinite waiting is the worst kind of waiting, if you ask me.) Ruth was instructed to wait until Boaz found the nearer kin, or redeemer, and ask if that man would marry Ruth, per the custom of their culture (Ruth 3:12-13). And who knew how long that would take or what would happen?
We arenât told if this frustrated Ruth, but it frustrates me for her. This is the point where Iâd likely throw in the towel, caught up in a thought spiral that goes something like this: Well, itâs all over now. Iâll be married to some man Iâve never met, these past few months will have been a total waste, and all Iâll have to show for it is a sore back and some barley. Perfect.
But Naomiâthe same woman who once named herself âBitterââoffered enough faith for the both of them. She encouraged Ruth, saying, âWait, my daughter, until you learn how the matter turns outâ (Ruth 3:18).
Wait, and then wait again. Isnât this the way of life? Nowhere are we promised an easy time just because we obey or come to what we believe is a capital-A Answer. But our Father waits tooâboth with us and for us. His Word says that He longs to be gracious toward us and show us compassion and mercy (Isaiah 30:18). âHis steadfast love endures forever,â through all things, all the time, just like the psalm says (Psalm 118).
This doesnât mean that things will turn out exactly the way we think they should. But it does mean that Godâs hand is always at work in our story, even when we canât see it. Even when weâre waiting. Godâs plan would have still gone ahead of Ruth, even if Boaz came back to say he couldnât marry her. She would still have been Godâs daughter, and His covenant promise to her would still have been true.
In your waiting place, cling to the hope that God will not leave our stories unfinished or unredeemed. They may not look how we expected but, as with Ruth and Naomi, our story is His story. We can wait with hope, and we can trust and obey with confidence. Thanks be to God.
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