Trusting God Through Life’s Turns

The book of Ruth starts with the story of Elimelech. When faced with famine and the uncertainty of the future, Elimelech leads his family to Moab, a place originating from the incestuous relationship between Lot and his daughter and a place ultimately cursed by God.

Many of us have experienced the fog of famine, questioning whether God will come through and starting to make our plans outside God's will for our lives, believing that we know better.

Have you ever been there? When you just go, "You know what, God? I'm not sure if you'll come through here, so I will start coming up with a backup plan just in case you don't."

The enemy is always lurking in the background of difficult days, overpromising and underdelivering. But God can be trusted in anything with everything more than anything else.

1.) Trust is one of the currencies in the economy of God.

"Clarity is the last thing you are clinging to and must let go of."

When Kavanaugh said she always seemed to have clarity, the very kind he was looking for, Mother Teresa laughed and said: "I have never had clarity; what I have always had is Trust. So I will pray that you trust God."

2.) There are no coincidences in the economy of God.

These just so happens are not just so happens at all....they are the result of a good and gracious God who is at work behind the scenes even in the most difficult of days.

One of the book's key themes is God's sovereignty and the Divine Providence of God. Providence is not a spiritual version of luck.

RC Sproul calls it "The strong, invisible hand."

And that strong and invisible hand is at work in your story, whether you see it or not. You can trust that he is working even if you don't hear him speaking.

The strong and invisible hand is at work today through the highs and lows, pain, victory, failure, celebration, and grief. He's working.

There will be a day when all the closed doors make sense. I don't know when, but I know it's coming. The story of Ruth gives us hope. Brighter days are ahead.

3.) Character and Integrity Matter in the Economy of God

In the Hebrew Bible, Ruth is found right after the book of Proverbs, where the last chapter describes a woman of Noble Character. Turn the page and begin reading about Ruth, a picture of the character mentioned in Proverbs 31.

Ruth 3:11 (NIV) Ruth is referred to as a woman of noble character.

Boaz is also a man of noble character. He shows up at work in verse 4 and greets his staff with, "The LORD be with you. And they replied, "The LORD bless you." He was a man of character.

Ruth: loyalty, kindness, sacrificial love, service, faithfulness.

Boaz: gentleness, kindness, generosity.

4.) Everything and everyone can be redeemed in the economy of God.

Three things were needed to be the Kinsman Redeemer:

1. You had to be related by blood.

2. You had to have the resources and ability to pay the price.

3. You had to be willing to do so (one Redeemer in this story wasn't).

But Boaz checked all three. He redeems Ruth and Naomi. And marries the Moabite Ruth. Can you imagine if you would have told Ruth that when she was journeying around the Dead Sea? Or when she was nervously gleaning in the fields of Boaz, "Hey, one day soon, you're gonna own this field." Wow!

The book ends with a genealogy that tells us that Boaz and Ruth have a son. Named Obed, who was Jesse's Father, who was David's father. So Ruth became the great-grandmother of King David.

From whose line would come the son of David, the Messiah.

The book is about Redemption. The word REDEEM shows up 23 times in 85 verses.

Not just Boaz redeeming Ruth, but God redeeming Israel. And through Obed, one would come who would redeem the whole world. Including you and me!

The story points to the ultimate Redeemer: a baby who would be born in Bethlehem and who was willing to look with grace toward those from enemy territory. One who would pursue us and who, because he was born of flesh and blood, could be our kinsman. And who, because he was willing and able to pay the price, is our REDEEMER?