The work that God blesses.

Day 14

Ruth 2:2b

And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.”

Listen. Seek the blessing. Find affirmation. It’s not news to say that Ruth respected Naomi’s opinion. If she didn’t, she would not have mentioned her intention to go glean. It is obvious as well that Ruth knew the law and its provision that ordered the workers not to pick up the sheaves that fell and leave them for the poor to pick up after them. Knowing this, she could have just gotten up and left. But she didn’t. She sought affirmation from her mother-in-law. As a younger person, under the authority of her elder, she gave her full disclosure of her intentions and sought her affirmation and blessing. She didn’t fly solo.

Many times in life, as a sanguine/choleric temperament, I have done things on impulse, without thinking them through, without seeking godly counsel. It has always backfired. Not once have I been successful when doing things that way. It would have been easy for Ruth to rise early in the morning and leave the house without Naomi’s knowledge or consent. After all, she really was not bound by the Israelite laws, was she? She was a Moabitess. But they were poor, Naomi was old, and someone needed to get food, or they would starve. “Let me go to the fields, she had asked.” Let me find a provision for us. Not necessarily a bad decision, right?

How about you? Have you tried to make decisions on impulse? Even good ones? Oh, how often is impulsive behavior related to bad decisions! But it is not always so. Sometimes we do it simply because it is our temperament. We mean well. We want to do it right. Yet God wants us to reflect; He wants us to think about what we are about to do. He wants us to seek the counsel of others more experienced, or those whose vision is not blurred by the circumstances around us.

Naomi gave her her blessing, “Go, my daughter.” What peace is there when we have the blessing of God over our endeavors! What joy is there when we know He is sending us! Are you in the middle of making a decision that could change your life forever? #getittogethergirl, seek the counsel of those who love you and know what could lie ahead of you. Seek confirmation in prayer, and God will give it to you.

Father, You know my needs. You know my desires. And you know that I don’t want to do anything that does not please you or bring you honor. Help me make the right decisions. Confirm to me your will in this situation. Bring godly counsel to my life, and give me the wisdom to recognize it. In Jesus’ name, amen.

 

My reflections:

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”

Matthew 7:7

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