The End…I Promise!
I’m in Beth Moore’s Summer Siesta’s Bible Study along with my close girlfriends. However, I call them PeeP’s instead of Siesta’s. Any of you out there doing the study as well? We’re digging into Kelly Minter’s book, Ruth: Love, Loss & Legacy. A great, easy study on the book of Ruth filled with yummy recipes too! www.kellyminter.com.
If you’ve not read the book of Ruth, I encourage you to do so! A beautiful story of love and redemption, plus it is only four chapters long! The lives of Naomi, the mother-in-law, Ruth, the daughter-in-law who was married to Naomi’s deceased son and Boaz, the next of kin to Naomi intertwine and sketch a type and shadow of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Kinsman-Redeemer. The story unfolds where Naomi, sets up Ruth with Boaz, her nearest ‘kinfolk’ for the prospect of a new husband. Yet with Boaz’ noble character, instead of just going ahead and marrying Ruth, he seeks out the ‘first in line’ kinsman-redeemer before he considers taking Ruth’s hand. In the meantime, Naomi says to Ruth, “Wait, my daughter, until you find out what happens. For the man will not rest until the matter is settled.” Ruth 3:18.
Ugg, the lovely word, “Wait”!
What I read next in our lesson struck me. Kelly, the author writes while on a mission trip to the Amazon river, “While I was on a boat in Brazil, I remember John Paculabo, say something that will stay with me forever. ‘The people here know how to wait. They wait for clean water. They wait for food. They wait for the floods to recede.’ They don’t resent it. They don’t see it as something to rush or dread. Instead, their waiting consists of hopeful endurance secured by a promise they know that is on the way.”
Wow! How would our outlook be or how would we react if we were told, “The end is near…I promise!” Or lets’ get personal here, what if someone said to us, “Your infertility journey has ended, you have a positive pregnancy test!” Or you get a call stating, “The birth mother accepted you as parents to her unborn child.” Whatever your situation, how would we react knowing the wait was over, the desired result at hand?
As Kelly said, “Instead, their waiting consists of hopeful endurance secured by a promise they know that is on the way.” I believe God wants us to view the road ahead of us, to be watchful in our waiting, enduring the path with a security in each step. The security in resting in the promises in His Word. I am reminded of the scripture, “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1
Today, envision the end is near! Not only is His promise on its’ way, but His promises are near to us now! Here are a few for us today:
- · He will never leave us or forsake us Joshua 1:5
- · He will perfect that which concerns you Psalm 138:8
- · He causes all things to work together for our good Romans 8:28
- · He will do above what we ask or think Ephesians 3:20
