Do the Next Right Thing
The book of Ruth starts out pretty depressing, if I’m being honest. From the beginning, the husbands of Naomi, Orpah, and Ruth have died. We don’t have many details other than the fact that they passed away. The Bible doesn’t even lend to the hardship or emotions surrounding their deaths; they are just gone. Then, we are brought through the journey of Ruth and Naomi’s redemption.
During this time, when a woman lost her husband, she relied on her sons to provide for her. In this story, Naomi loses her husband and then both of her sons. This must have been heart-wrenching. Naomi does the next thing she knows to do; she returns to Bethlehem because she knew of a wealthy man named Boaz, who was a relative of her husband. While Naomi encourages her daughter-in-laws to go back to their homelands as well, Ruth can’t do it. She remains loyal to her mother-in-law and goes with her to Bethlehem.
Upon arriving, Ruth finds a way to work and help provide for them. Then Naomi encourages her to go to Boaz in the evening, as was customary when a woman presents herself to a man, and Ruth does as she suggests. Throughout the rest of the book, we see Boaz taking Ruth as his wife and, as a result, becoming her family’s redeemer. From this marriage, comes the birth of Obed, who was the grandfather of David, making Ruth one of only five women mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus. (Matthew 1: 1-16)
What struck me in Ruth’s story is that we don’t read much about her feelings and the deep grief she, her mother-in-law, and sister-in-law experienced. We don’t read about the fear they most likely had once they realized they did not have the men in their lives to care for them anymore. We do know they experienced these things though because we too are human. Life is hard. From the most traumatic of situations to the smallest seemingly menial situations in life, we all still experience great distress, pain, grief, etc. Through these emotions, we can go down many different paths in life if we aren’t careful to stay grounded in our faith.
Through extreme grief, Ruth continued to do the next right thing. So often, especially in today’s culture, we let our feelings rule us. If we give in to our feelings, we stop doing the next right thing.
Regardless of how you're feeling today, whether it's overwhelming sadness, anxiety, depression, or joy on a mountaintop, it's important to keep moving forward and doing the next right thing. Don’t allow your place in life to dictate your relationship with Jesus. When things are going well and no obvious struggles are coming our way, we sometimes float through life, forgetting who got us to that season of rest and forgetting to take that time to continually draw close to our Savior through relationship and prayer. Sometimes even when we are back down in the valley, forging through another of life’s journeys, we often give up that prayer time as well. Real men and women of faith do not rely on feelings to dictate their day-to-day routines.
Let your day to day be dictated by the Holy Spirit. Keep doing the next right thing. Pray, read your Bible, go to church, seek community with other believers. Every step that you are taking is all a part of the beautiful plan for your life.
This is what Ruth did. After all the heartache, she kept going. She stayed with her mother-in-law, she worked in the fields, she followed her mother in law’s advice, and SHE is a part of the genealogy of the Savior of the world! She didn’t know the significance of doing the next right thing then, but now we have the beautiful story of a Savior sent to us, and can see how she was a part of that plan.
You don’t have to always know the next full chapter of your life before you take steps towards your future. You just have to trust and rely on God to guide you to take the next right step. Before you know it, all those seemingly small steps toward your goal are actually your faithful steps that lead you to exactly where you were meant to be in this season of your life.
You will look back one day and be able to see God’s hand never left you. I encourage you to write things down monthly about what is happening in your life. What did you pray for? What bothered you that month? What life circumstances knocked you off your rocker? What went well? Then, when you look back throughout the months and years of these recordings, you will be amazed at your growth. I guarantee you will have forgotten some of the things that God brought you through that seemed so huge at the time, and now they are so small because you just continued doing the next right thing, and He brought you through to the other side.
God is so good, and walking with Him one step at a time will lead to some of the biggest blessings in our lives and the lives of the generations after us.
So if you are suffering in a manner that pleases God, keep on doing what is right, and trust your lives to the God who created you, for he will never fail you. 1 Peter 4:19 NLT
JOURNAL: Take some time to start a journal entry from the past month of your life. Write down your struggles, your prayer requests, and your victories. Keeping a record of the hardships and the championships of your life is a way to stay grounded in your relationship with Jesus. Let’s not forget ALL the things He is continually doing in our lives.
PRAYER: God, help my heart to continually seek You. In every valley, on every mountaintop, remind me of Your faithfulness. Your way is the best way, and I thank You for guiding me through this life. Amen.
During this time, when a woman lost her husband, she relied on her sons to provide for her. In this story, Naomi loses her husband and then both of her sons. This must have been heart-wrenching. Naomi does the next thing she knows to do; she returns to Bethlehem because she knew of a wealthy man named Boaz, who was a relative of her husband. While Naomi encourages her daughter-in-laws to go back to their homelands as well, Ruth can’t do it. She remains loyal to her mother-in-law and goes with her to Bethlehem.
Upon arriving, Ruth finds a way to work and help provide for them. Then Naomi encourages her to go to Boaz in the evening, as was customary when a woman presents herself to a man, and Ruth does as she suggests. Throughout the rest of the book, we see Boaz taking Ruth as his wife and, as a result, becoming her family’s redeemer. From this marriage, comes the birth of Obed, who was the grandfather of David, making Ruth one of only five women mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus. (Matthew 1: 1-16)
What struck me in Ruth’s story is that we don’t read much about her feelings and the deep grief she, her mother-in-law, and sister-in-law experienced. We don’t read about the fear they most likely had once they realized they did not have the men in their lives to care for them anymore. We do know they experienced these things though because we too are human. Life is hard. From the most traumatic of situations to the smallest seemingly menial situations in life, we all still experience great distress, pain, grief, etc. Through these emotions, we can go down many different paths in life if we aren’t careful to stay grounded in our faith.
Through extreme grief, Ruth continued to do the next right thing. So often, especially in today’s culture, we let our feelings rule us. If we give in to our feelings, we stop doing the next right thing.
Regardless of how you're feeling today, whether it's overwhelming sadness, anxiety, depression, or joy on a mountaintop, it's important to keep moving forward and doing the next right thing. Don’t allow your place in life to dictate your relationship with Jesus. When things are going well and no obvious struggles are coming our way, we sometimes float through life, forgetting who got us to that season of rest and forgetting to take that time to continually draw close to our Savior through relationship and prayer. Sometimes even when we are back down in the valley, forging through another of life’s journeys, we often give up that prayer time as well. Real men and women of faith do not rely on feelings to dictate their day-to-day routines.
Let your day to day be dictated by the Holy Spirit. Keep doing the next right thing. Pray, read your Bible, go to church, seek community with other believers. Every step that you are taking is all a part of the beautiful plan for your life.
This is what Ruth did. After all the heartache, she kept going. She stayed with her mother-in-law, she worked in the fields, she followed her mother in law’s advice, and SHE is a part of the genealogy of the Savior of the world! She didn’t know the significance of doing the next right thing then, but now we have the beautiful story of a Savior sent to us, and can see how she was a part of that plan.
You don’t have to always know the next full chapter of your life before you take steps towards your future. You just have to trust and rely on God to guide you to take the next right step. Before you know it, all those seemingly small steps toward your goal are actually your faithful steps that lead you to exactly where you were meant to be in this season of your life.
You will look back one day and be able to see God’s hand never left you. I encourage you to write things down monthly about what is happening in your life. What did you pray for? What bothered you that month? What life circumstances knocked you off your rocker? What went well? Then, when you look back throughout the months and years of these recordings, you will be amazed at your growth. I guarantee you will have forgotten some of the things that God brought you through that seemed so huge at the time, and now they are so small because you just continued doing the next right thing, and He brought you through to the other side.
God is so good, and walking with Him one step at a time will lead to some of the biggest blessings in our lives and the lives of the generations after us.
So if you are suffering in a manner that pleases God, keep on doing what is right, and trust your lives to the God who created you, for he will never fail you. 1 Peter 4:19 NLT
JOURNAL: Take some time to start a journal entry from the past month of your life. Write down your struggles, your prayer requests, and your victories. Keeping a record of the hardships and the championships of your life is a way to stay grounded in your relationship with Jesus. Let’s not forget ALL the things He is continually doing in our lives.
PRAYER: God, help my heart to continually seek You. In every valley, on every mountaintop, remind me of Your faithfulness. Your way is the best way, and I thank You for guiding me through this life. Amen.
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2 Comments
Such good perspective, Megan! I needed this reminder today 🩷
This was spot on for me! My hubby of 40 years passed 8/14/21. I have been doing as you so eloquently described and now God is clearly putting folks in my path that have a health crisis. As a retired medically based Speech Pathologist and caregiving for my husband after a blessed double lung transplant 7//3/19, I am getting my purpose back. Although I am still in my grief journey, I finally feel good to once again use my giftedness. Thank you!