Don’t Go Alone
National polls show that one in three people feel significantly lonely every week! It may seem like we’ve never been more connected, but that’s not truly the case.
The Bible tells a story in the book of Ruth, of three people who were intimately connected in deep ways. Their lives prove that:
CIRCUMSTANCE + PURPOSE= KINGDOM POWER
In Ruth 1:1-5 we see a family in crisis. Their life circumstances seem to implode when a famine hits the land prompting Naomi and her family to move to Moab. Naomi’s husband dies leaving her with her two sons, who eventually marry Moabite women. Tragically, both her sons die…prompting her to move back to Bethlehem. One daughter-in-law kisses Namoi goodbye, while Ruth clings to her with a vow to never leave. Ruth’s endearing love touches Naomi, and together they make the journey back to her homeland.
Better Together Key #1: Your setback is your set-up. Heartaches can lead to heart change, which brings powerful growth.
Ruth 19-21 shows the depth of the pain festering in Naomi’s heart. She says, “Call me Mara!” when her friends greet her upon her return. Mara means bitter, and Naomi can’t shake the bitterness that’s settled inside.
Better Together Key #2: Don’t allow your “Mara Season” to keep you from a new harvest. If you’re still dwelling on anger, shame, or pain from the past, you’re choking out new fruit and new blessing.
To provide food, Naomi has Ruth go to the fields of a relative so she can glean the leftovers from those who are harvesting. The man who owns the fields (Boaz) takes notice of her, and her reputation spreads throughout the town.
Better Together Key #3: When you cling to God and humbly do what’s right, He leads you to places where people know your reputation. You don’t have to show it or prove it. It’s the mantle you carry and the authority your humility brings.
In a stunning picture of redemption, Boaz becomes Ruth’s kinsman redeemer and marries her. She gives birth to a son who is in the birth line of Jesus Christ! Naomi became the child’s nurse, and in a full circle turn of events, her joy is beautifully restored.
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