FOLLOW YOUR 💓 FULFILL YOUR OWN DESTINY

1. Follow Your 💓 Fulfill Your Own Destiny

@1. The story in the Book of Ruth (4 Chapters) tells us that Ruth and Orpah, two women of Moab, had married two sons of Elimelech and Naomi, Judeans who had settled in Moab to escape a famine in Judah. The husbands of all three women died. 

@2. The logical thing for Ruth to do when her husband died was to go home to her own family and look for a new husband. 

@3. Naomi suggested they do that. And Ruth’s sister-in-law Orpah followed her advice. But Ruth didn't. Instead, Ruth followed her conviction. 

Ruth 1:16-17 

But Ruth said, "Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. 

Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the LORD do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you."

@4. We need to remember that strong convictions precede great actions. When we know something is right — and that conviction is bolstered by the knowledge that our motives are pure, as Ruth’s were — we need to follow through. Others may second-guess our thinking and our decision-making. But when we know what’s right, we can’t let those things throw us off. We need to stand by our convictions. 

@5. Because Ruth followed her heart and went with Naomi to Bethlehem, her influence on others increased.

@6. Instead of looking down on her as a foreigner, the Hebrews noticed her and admired her. She gained the favour of Boaz, who told her, “I’ve heard all about you — heard about the way you treated your mother-in-law after the death of her husband, and how you left your father and mother and the land of your birth and have come to live among a bunch of total strangers. GOD reward you well for what you’ve done — and with a generous bonus besides from GOD, to whom you’ve come seeking protection under his wings.”

@7. When Ruth followed her heart and made her decision, she stood out from the beige lives of others. She impressed the people of an entire town, including the elders, who blessed her, declaring,

Ruth 4:11-12 

Then all the people who were at the gate and the elders said, "We are witnesses. May the LORD make the woman, who is coming into your house, like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you act worthily in Ephrathah and be renowned in Bethlehem, and may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring that the LORD will give you by this young woman."

@8. By following her heart and doing what she knew was right, Ruth went from being a foreigner to being someone who was respected, blessed, and honoured.

@9. When Boaz recognized Ruth and started to bless her, it might have been natural for her to slack off. 

@10. After all, she was receiving the favour of a relative who had the power to redeem her and the property that had once belonged to Naomi’s husband. 

@11. But Ruth remained faithful and kept working hard. Scripture says she worked hard before Boaz invited her to eat with him. 

@12. Afterward she got right back to work and gleaned in the field until evening. And then she threshed what she had gathered before going home. This is the pattern she followed until both the barley and wheat harvests were done.

@13. When God grants you favour and you receive His blessings, don’t let it go to your head and don’t let up. Keep working. 

@14. When you have favour and momentum, push ahead. Naomi understood this. When she and Ruth began to receive Boaz’s favour, they didn’t just sit back and enjoy the provisions he made sure they received. Naomi capitalized on them. She told Ruth to lie at Boaz’s feet, as a sign of her desire to seek his protection. And he graciously gave it. He immediately became their advocate.

@15. God wants His people to be recognized by others because of their love. Often we forget that. Ruth’s words of wisdom are a good reminder. If we love others and follow our heart in the way we treat everyone, it’s hard to go wrong.

@16. Always remember you have a destiny to fulfill. You are uniquely created and are different in many of your ways. So by following your heart you will be fulfilling your own destiny God has for you!