#ruthchallenge

#ruthchallenge 📖 @youversion https://www.instagram.com/p/BuKhsbgj82U1MNsU3LQxUgSl_1CrZf4eq6GpIw0/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=13ysybzfooek8

#ruthchallenge 📖 https://www.instagram.com/p/BuKhsbgj82U1MNsU3LQxUgSl_1CrZf4eq6GpIw0/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1f13gauy5qdc9

#boaz #ruthchallenge #bepatient🙏

This story isn’t just about Ruth, Naomi and Boaz. It is also about our relationship with Jesus and our redemption! You might be feeling like Naomi - bitter at God. Or like Ruth - far from the knowledge of the true God. Even if you are as far away as they were, this story shows us that God can turn things around and make something, out of nothing…and God loves to make a ‘somebody’, out of a ‘nobody.’

Ruth 3 Matthew 5:13-16 Naomi was playing cupid in this chapter. She wanted the best for her daughter in-law and she had faith in Boaz to look after her, not just because of His wealth, but because of his character. THE PREPARATION PERIOD & WISE COUNSEL Similar to Esther, Ruth had to prepare before meeting the one she desired to call her husband. In this, we learn that we have to prepare before seeking the things that we ‘desire’ because it is in our preparation that we will truly know whether it is worth seeking after. This goes for anything in life, albeit Godly relationships or good grades; they all require preparation and sometimes an elder like Naomi to give advice. I say SOMETIMES, because Naomi’s advice was questionable. She essentially instructed Ruth to do anything Boaz asked her to do…which could have been A-N-Y-THING! Praise God it wasn’t, but it shows how careful we have to be with any advice we’ve received. We must remember to evaluate the advice received from another by considering their relationship with God. Naomi’s spiritual condition in chapter one is far from encouraging. By her own confession, she is bitter and accused God of being harsh with her. THINK: Is the counsel I’ve been given based on Scripture, or is it the fallible opinion of the adviser? GODLY CONDUCT IN COMPROMISING SITUATIONS We all probably read this chapter thinking, ‘I hope they don’t do what they shouldn’t do’, but Boaz and Ruth remained Godly in a situation that could have turned into something else. They displayed their strength of character! This reassures us that Godly character can be evident in ungodly settings. We live in a time where ungodliness is everywhere, but we need to be that light, a light that leaves no room for darkness. BOAZ IS THE STANDARD FOR YOU MEN It takes a strong God-fearing man to stand firm in the situation Boaz was in. Guys, this is the standard for you. You should be the moral leader who protects the purity and reputation of the women you associate yourself with. This is what real manhood is about. Your Ruth will come. Likewise, ladies please don’t compromise yourself or God’s standards to get attention from a guy. Let the attention you receive from any man, be attention that stems from your inner beauty, character and virtue. Your Boaz will come.

IT IS GOOD TO SERVE Ruth is an embodiment of the virtuous woman described in Proverbs 31. She worked with eager hands (Proverbs 31:13). She provided food for her family; by giving the leftover she received from Boaz to Naomi (Proverbs 31:15). Ruth was not sitting around waiting to be served, she was joyfully willing to serve and do what it takes to contribute. Are you doing the same? Think of various ways you can serve in all that you do; albeit in school, college, university, church, youth groups, anywhere. Your service should come from a place of humility, not to get credit from anyone but purely from a desire to serve as a Child of God! LIKE RUTH, STAY IN YOUR FIELD AND BE FAITHFUL WHERE YOU HAVE BEEN PLANTED Remain where God has placed you. Don’t stray away from the field that God has put you in for this season just to go into another field where you will be out of His will (Ruth 2:8-9). There are dangers to jumping fields without instruction, as Boaz emphasised to Ruth in this chapter. In the same way, God wants you to stay in your God-assigned field to keep you from harm. Have you ever taken yourself to an ungodly setting and felt uneasy? That’s God saying…get out of there and run into My Presence. Some of us are confused about the field God has placed us in. Believe that your presence in church, school, in your family and your friendship groups, all of these ‘fields’ mean a lot to God. So, serve with excellence in these areas of your life and beyond – as if you were working directly for God. (Ephesians 6:7) LADIES: WAIT FOR YOUR BOAZ The Boaz kind of guy is a man that hears about your good works and completely favours you because he sees that you are a woman of virtue, a diligent worker, beautiful and of great worth. Boaz heard excellent things about Ruth; she wasn’t a ‘ratchet’ woman or ‘bad b-word’. She represented herself well and her actions were a reflection of her virtuous nature. A man that truly appreciates your all round WORTH is a man worthy of your service and submission.

Having counted the cost Ruth was willing to give up everything she knew and loved to follow Naomi, and Naomi’s God. A gentile becoming one of God’s own by CHOICE – have you made yours? Will you still trust God in the hard times?