Have you ever played one of those three of a kind connection type games? You know the game where you get three words and you have to find the common connection. For example, you are given these three words: [school, skate, dart] What three things do these words have in common? Well if you’re like me I will stare at these words for about a minute (that is being generous) before I give up and the person beside me blurts out “boards” don’t you see it? It boards, school board, skate board and dart board.
What about these three names from the Bible: Job, Naomi and Ruth. What do they have in common? It wasn’t evident right away for me but after reading through the book of Job and then through Ruth, I made the connection. Faith. Each one of these three people had a connection through their faith in God. Job and Naomi shared a similar yet different story through their personal relationship with God, a story of pain, suffering and loss. This was a period of time that left them with nothing, but in the end through the grace and mercy of a sovereign God they both received many new blessings in their lives.
Ruth’s faith stands out as we read about how her faith in God influenced her actions. The beginning chapter of Ruth points us to her faith in the same God as Naomi, the God of Israel. Ruth chooses to leave her former life of trust in other god’s to follow the one true God. From this point on we read about how her faith compels her to stay with Naomi, she provides for her, she cares for her, she humbly sets aside her own needs to help her. Ruth’s actions, which are rooted in her faith God, lead them to place where she is recognized for who she was created to be, a hard working loyal worker, caregiver, friend and a God fearing woman. Ruth’s confidence and bold approach of a marriage proposal to Boaz was backed by her faith and trust in God’s leading.
Ruth’s actions spoke louder than her words, a lesson many of us can learn today. We need to pray for opportunities to put our faith into action. Our faith should cause us to want to serve; when our actions speak louder than our words, God will be glorified.
Your sitting in a dark room with only a faint light above your head, there are no windows. It is cold and damp, you feel like you have been through a storm, you don’t know how you got there and can’t see a way out. Unexpectedly out of nowhere you hear a loud thundering voice call out to you “Brace yourself like and man; I will question you, and you shall answer me”. Your heart is pounding, the questioning begins. One question after another, questions you don’t have answers for, questions that force you to examine who your really are.
Leonardo da Vinci found inspiration from the study of nature. He was fascinated by the fluid motion of water as it moved over and around obstacles in its path. He observed the intricate patterns etched into the face of leaves and was intrigued with textures and colors. Today we can find inspiration in nature just as he did or we can be inspired by the words of a great speaker, a powerful song, or a beautiful piece of art. But can we find inspiration in something difficult, hard or even devastating? The tough, difficult things of life typically bring us down but sometimes we can find a spark of inspiration or hope through these times.
