The Choice

‘But Ruth said: “Entreat me not to leave you, Or to turn back from following after you; For wherever you go, I will go; And where ever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall be my people, And your God, my God.’ Ruth 1:16

Hello,

As I read about Ruth recently, there was a picture painted in my mind, about our choices and God’s grace. God’s all-encompassing grace can change a life forever, keeping one’s name for always written on the tablets of history. As I read the first chapter of Ruth and came to the verse above, I imagined the heavens opening and God leaning down. He heard her that day. He saw her heart and smiling, He withdrew. I feel that His thoughts would have been, “This one, I can use.”

Later on in Matthew 1:5-6, I saw where God’s grace brought her to.

‘Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab,  Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David, the king. David, the king, begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah. ‘Matthew 1:5-6

I have no idea what persuaded Ruth to make such a life-changing decision. To leave her father’s house, land, culture, gods, and all she had known, for what? Naomi did not give her hope of a better future; in fact, she reminded her that there was none where she was going. Was it love for Naomi, or a yearning for a God that felt real? A God that could not be made with hands, who she was told listened and of whom she had heard numerous stories during her marriage to Mahlon? I have no idea, but when she made her choice, God took notice. Unknown to Naomi and Ruth, He activated and set into motion the plan for her life.

Since we are sons, then our choices matter. I am not talking about just the big ones like the one Ruth made, but even the small ones are important. I realized that like Ruth and Naomi, who didn’t know that God had heard, we tend to forget that He is Jehovah Shammah, the ever-present one. He sees He hears, speaks, and He knows. We must stay alert not only when we speak, but when we think and judge situations. We make decisions in our hearts all the time, and even without speaking them out, act on them. Decisions on how to live, work, and deal with other people or situations.

The trip for me is not that Ruth became the great grand-mother of King David, or that she went further to become the ancestor of Jesus Christ, our lord. The trip is that by making that single choice, her destiny was activated. The cover of grace provided to see her through every step of the way. In Christ, we have been enabled, and divine favor provided to see us through. So, the ability to make the right choices before Him is guaranteed by faith.

Take the step, make the right choice, and let God write your story.

Till next time, be transformed!!