It is hard to trust God sometimes. Having courage when we are faced with hard decisions is also difficult at times. As believers, we are to trust God and show courage in the face of hard decisions and situations, but that is easier said than done. But God, in His kindness, knowing we would struggle with this, gave us people in the bible to look to for inspiration and encouragement. One of those people is Ruth.

Trust and courage in the face of hard decisions.

I love the book of Ruth in the bible. It is a story many of us are familiar with; Ruth and her sister-in-law both lose their husbands, who happen to be brothers, and are left with their mother-in-law, Naomi. After the death, they need to decide if they stay with Naomi, or they walk away and go back to their respective hometowns. Ruth’s sister-in-law walks away, yet Ruth decides to stay with Naomi and journeys back with Naomi to her homeland of Bethlehem. There she meets Boaz, gets married and starts her happily ever after. It’s a beautiful story of loyalty, love and restoration. It is also a story of courage and boldness, specifically, Ruth’s courage.

Ruth takes the first courageous step in this story when she decides to follow her mother-in-law to Bethlehem. After a time in Bethlehem, Naomi concocts a plan to get Ruth married to Boaz, a kinsman (relative) of hers. She instructs Ruth on what to do to let Boaz know she’s available for marriage; she was to go to Boaz while he was sleeping and lay herself at his feet. Literally. I’m not sure how that plan makes you feel, but the thought of laying down at the feet of a man that I barely even know to let him know that I was available to marry him doesn’t sit well with me. It’s the equivalent of going up to a long distant relative that you barely know and asking them to marry you. Yea, no thanks.

Trusting the unknown.

I would imagine Ruth felt some sort of hesitation at doing this, especially as there was no real relationship between her and Boaz. She also didn’t know if he would be happy to find her there or would throw her out. She was putting her reputation, self-respect and heart on the line by laying at his feet without knowing how he would respond. All she had was Naomi’s belief that Boaz would respond in the way they wanted him to. But that was all she needed. Ruth trusted Naomi and her judgement. She also trusted Naomi’s love for her. This trust in Naomi was enough for Ruth to gather her courage and go and lay at the feet of Boaz and await her fate.

Trust and courage.

Trust and courage. That is what Ruth had. And that is what we need.

God will at times ask us to step out and do things that may seem odd. Laying at the feet of a man that you bare knew while he was sleeping wasn’t the norm. But that’s what was required of Ruth to be able to step into the next season of her life and God’s will. And that’s what may be required of us. God may ask us to gather up our courage and do something that we don’t want to. But just as Ruth trusted Naomi, we need to trust God to lead us in the right direction. Because God can be trusted.

Proverbs 3:5 tells us to, ‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.’ When we lean on our own understanding, we only see through an earthly lens; we don’t see the bigger picture or see what’s coming down the line. God can.

He is God.

He is the One that created the heavens and the earth.

The One that knows the beginning from the end.

We can trust Him to lead is in the way we should go. And we can trust Him to give us the courage needed to step out and do what is needed. We just need to ask Him. And when we ask, we need to believe that He will give us what we need. Take courage. Trust that the One that created you sees you, loves you and will give you the courage you need to step out.

As posted in ICFW