This week, we're blessed to have the author of the Daughter of the Covenant Blog feature in a guest blog!
Natallie: I currently work as an HR professional in the manufacturing industry and I believe God has used my career to hone the skills He requires me to use in ministry. Over the last few years, I have served the church in various capacities, including as a Youth leader, running events and bible study groups. More recently, I have been called to lead a small home bible study fellowship which gathers weekly. Our group meets to discuss what God is saying to us through His word as well as share our understanding of how we can live how God intended for us to live. I am passionate about helping others achieve their potential and live more purposefully and have had the opportunity to support others who are passionate about walking in the direction God has set for their lives. My blog is an extension of this and through this medium, I aim to share what God lays on my heart about different topics and challenges.
My bible study spent the month of September studying the book of Ruth and it was such an encouraging book to read. At the end of August, I was led to start this series as we learnt about how God brought newness and hope into a story that started with tragedy. A wrote a post a few months ago which looked at how God can work in situations which require us to return to a place He may have taken us out of. In the book of Ruth, we learn a lot about how God used Naomi, Ruth and Boaz for His purpose. All three submitted to the will of God and allowed God to accomplish His will through them, even though their story started with pain.
As the book is about the life of Ruth, I would like to share with you some of the
characteristics we saw Ruth display which took her from a widow from a foreign land to
marrying a wealthy man and made her a great-grandmother to King David. As you read
through, consider how these qualities made Ruth a woman of God and how she allowed
God to work through her:
1. Selflessness: This was the one that stood out most for the group, right from the first
week. After losing her husband (Naomi’s son), Ruth declined to return to her people,
instead, choosing to stay with her mother-in-law and keeping her as her family.
2. Obedient: After arriving in a foreign land and vowing to serve Naomi’s God as her
own, Ruth went on to follow every instruction her wise mother-in-law gave her,
leading to her marriage to Boaz!
3. God-fearing: Our bible study group reasoned that Naomi must have shared her
religion with Ruth, leading Ruth to accept God as her God. Even so, Ruth was very
resolved in her decision to serve God and as we all know, any show of submission to
God allows Him to do wonders in our lives!
4. Courageous: I don’t need to say much on this except ask, how many of us would be
willing to leave behind everything we know to go to a foreign land and build a new
life...? Fear didn’t stop Ruth from following God (and her heart) and it paid of
wonderfully.
5. Responsible: One of the first things Ruth did when they got back to Judah was to
find work in a farm and provide for her and Naomi. After leaving her own people
behind to go to a foreign land, she had the added responsibility of caring for her new
family. I can’t imagine how Ruth must’ve felt and how determined she must’ve been
to take on that responsibility without murmuring and trying to prioritise looking for a
husband. That was never on the agenda until God brought her and Boaz together!
Her focus remained on fulfilling her responsibilities until God brought them together.
6. Favoured: This should probably be one of the first things we list but I have put it last
because even with favour, there’s still work to be done. Favour works very well with
those who are submitted to carrying out the will and purpose of God for their lives.
In the case of Ruth, after taking on her responsibility as a daughter and working to
provide for her family, God ensured she found favour which made it easier for her to
get what she needed. Favour also allowed her to be noticed by Boaz, even though
Ruth considered herself lower than Boaz’s servants!
I hope these characteristics of Ruth are ones that you find also when you read this inspiring and incredibly hopeful book! Check out www.daughterofcovenant.com for lessons about Boaz!