January 10, 2023

Passage Read: Ruth 1-4
Meditation Verses: 1:16-17

Thought

This is what it looks like to surrender our life for the good of another. Ruth could have returned to her own people and found a new husband and been taken care of, but she understood the situation Naomi would be in and chose to give up her own desires in order to care for her. God rewarded her with a godly husband and a glorious inheritance, becoming an ancestor of David and of Jesus. She gave up an easy and obvious path to security, she gave up her own life in order to become the servant of another, who would otherwise have little or no hope. God could have easily provided for Naomi, but Ruth didn't understand that. She chose to give up herself to love and care for her mother-in-law. And God took note and honored her in ways far beyond anything she could have expected or hoped.

Application

God is the same today. He promises that whoever is willing to humble themselves and become the servant of all, He will exalt to the highest places of His kingdom. We fear losing ourselves and missing out on opportunities we think we can obtain by our own diligence. We don't want to be the least now or the servant of the lowly. That won't bring us comfort or prosperity; we'll be poor, lower than the people we serve because we're their servants! But if I stop being concerned for my own comfort and wishes, and give myself to care for the needs of others, to build them up in Christ, to love them and seek their good, God will take note of that. He will remember, and who knows what He can and will do to honor me? He will at least provide for all my needs, so that I lack for nothing.