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Do you have or have you ever had a prayer you have prayed for a very long time and you felt like you were just waiting for an answer? Today we are looking at Elizabeth, who was the cousin of Mary and the wife of Zechariah. Zechariah was a priest and Elizabeth, his wife was barren, which in those days was a disgrace among men. If you could not have children there was a stigma attached to it. So I think it would stand to reason that possibly Elizabeth had prayed for a long time to bear a child, yet she did not become bitter about it. How do I know that? Well unfortunately scripture doesn’t tell us very much, therefore, we have to look at what it does tell us. 

“And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord.” Luke 1:6

This one verse tells us a lot about both Elizabeth and Zechariah. I believe that Elizabeth lived from a grateful heart even before her prayer was answered and really because of her age she had probably given up on getting the answer she desired. Why do I think that? Because she walked blamelessly. When you don’t live from a grateful heart, bitterness creeps in. When bitterness creeps in, I think it would be very difficult to walk blameless. I know that in my life when I feel bitter about something, I get grumpy and in a way even judgmental. I don’t understand why God would bless someone else with something that maybe I have been praying for. Yet Elizabeth was righteous before God and walked blameless. 

Then it happened an angel appeared to Elizabeth’s husband while he was performing his priestly duties and gave them the baby reveal they had been waiting for. Zechariah went through a whole range of emotions during this encounter with the angel. He felt fear and trouble in his spirit and doubt and eventually he would have believed. When he questioned the angel about how this could happen now because of he and Elizabeth’s age the angel told him he would not be able to speak again until the prophecy was fulfilled. Zechariah finished his assignment and then went home. 

“After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived,” Luke 1:24a

God’s plan had been put into action. But it’s Elizabeth’s reaction I want us to see here. 

“and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, ‘Thus the Lord has done for me the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.” Luke 1:24b-25

Now I am having to speculate some of what I am about to say here, but I think Elizabeth was so overwhelmed that her prayers were being answered. I think keeping herself hidden for five months was probably all about relishing in the thought that she felt seen by God and she was grateful to Him that she was getting her answer in the way she wanted it. When she says “thus the Lord has done for me” I believe this is her way of being grateful for the answer God has given her. I have had things before I just had to get alone with God for a bit and relish what He did for me. I believe that Elizabeth had learned how to live from a grateful heart already because she walked with God. But this getting alone with Him was just to be grateful to Him. She may have been overwhelmed with her emotions.

Now I’ll admit that I am reading between the lines to get a part of this back story. But I can see it there through what scripture does tell us. The question for us is how do we live from a grateful heart even when we aren’t getting the desired answers? I think we have to live intentionally being grateful for what we do get. Several years ago I read a book by Ann Voskamp called One Thousand Gifts. I have mentioned it here before. Ann teaches in this book that she went on a quest to find One Thousand Gifts by writing 3 things every day she was thankful for. It is a way to be intentional about saying thank you. I think it helps me to not just look at the things that I feel like I’m not getting the answers for, but to look at the blessings God has given me. I’m not sure if Elizabeth was intentional enough to think of 3 things a day, but I think her demeanor and countenance that we are given tells us she was already living from this grateful heart even before she received this blessing. 

Can you find 3 things you are grateful for today? 

“The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my savior; you save me from violence. I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.” 2 Samuel 22:2-4

It is believed by scholars that David wrote this prayer of gratitude many years before it appears in scripture. But that maybe as David neared the end of his life he was looking back over his life with gratitude and reminds himself of his own words. It is believed that this was originally penned around the time of Saul’s death when David took the throne. But David does a lot of living between the time that he would have originally written this and when it appears in scripture if that is the case. David has sinned and repented, he has gone to war, he had family issues with his own children that he didn’t handle yet through it all, he remained grateful to God for what God had given him and how God had carried him through his life. 

As you walk with God and allow Him free rein to work in your life, much like David your faith and trust in God will grow. David may have penned these words as a young man but as he recounts his words nearing the end of his life, I think he knows God to be these things (rock, fortress, deliverer etc.) on a deeper level. At least I know it is that way with me. 

I have walked with God for a long time. I became a christian in my teens and I spent the next several years trying to be good enough for God. And failing miserably at it, I might add. I fell over and over again as I tried that method. But in my early thirties I started truly walking with the Lord and having a daily quiet time with him and asking Him to direct my path and my steps as I attempted to navigate life. 

I remember becoming very grateful for my salvation and the Lord’s presence in my life as a young woman. I know that I wanted to look at Him as these things, (my rock, fortress, deliverer, etc.) but friends, there are just some things that can’t be taught, but have to be experienced. Or at least that is the way it has been for me in my experience. As I have walked with Him for years now I can honestly say that He has been a rock and a fortress for me when I was not sure if I would be able to take another step. He has delivered me from things that were of my own stupidity and He has delivered me from things that were just plain circumstances of life. But the one thing I can tell you is that He has delivered me. 

I love that David gave us the example of looking back over his life and saying thanks to God for what He had carried him through. David knew life circumstances that were a result of his own sin and David knew life circumstances that were a result of someone else’s sin. But through it all David knew the deliverance of his God and he knew the benefit of saying thanks to God, who is worthy to be praised. I hope that is where I find myself too. I want to live with an attitude of gratitude to Him for what He has carried me through thus far and what He will carry me through in the future. 

Today, I am thankful for Thanksgiving week. Since I work for a school, I am fortunate enough to get the whole week. I will have good time to prepare this week and hopefully will have some down time too. Remember to say thanks to God for all He has done and all He is going to do in your life! 

In the book of Colossians, Paul is giving instruction to the people in the church of Colossae on how to live the Christian life. In chapter 3, verses 12 – 14 he tells them that as Christians we should live as if we were chosen by God, because we are, we should try to live holy lives and be compassionate and kind. We should be humble and have patience and forgive each other and above all we should love each other. 

Then we go into our study passage. And if we do our best to live that way then we can….

“And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.” Colossians 3:15 

I noticed that Paul actually puts great emphasis in this verse and the next couple of verses to being thankful. As we are letting the peace of Christ rule in our hearts we will be thankful. As we are doing our best to live for Him, we will cultivate gratitude. 

I love the next verse which directs us to let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” Colossians 3:16

I love God’s word. I prayed years ago for God to cultivate a love for His word in my heart and He has. I love studying and trying to discern what is meant behind the passages. I can remember as a young woman, reading and not really grasping much of what I was reading. I am grateful for what I have learned. Not that I know much by any means! And I am grateful for what He teaches me as I study now. I love writing about what he is teaching me. And I love singing psalms and hymns. I want to remind myself to do so with thankfulness because of this verse! 

My struggle comes with the next verse.

“And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Colossians 3:15-17

Oh I love the verse, I just wonder how many times am I guilty of not doing my every day, mundane tasks with thankfulness in my heart. I confess it here, I am not much of a Martha. I cook and clean because someone’s got to do it. I wish I were one of those people who love doing those things but I really am just not. And I am afraid that when I do those things I don’t do them with a very thankful heart. I pray that God will remind me to do my every day tasks, even the ones that I am not particularly looking forward to or enjoying with a thankful heart for what He has given me. 

Why do you think Paul put so much emphasis on being thankful? I think it is because when we live from a grateful heart and we count even the mundane things, such as work as blessings, we are living a more peaceful life. That’s why the first directive is “And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts.” When we live for Him the best we know how and when we forgive each other and love each other and count our blessings instead of looking at what we don’t have, we are a happier people. 

A couple of years ago I was at a conference and there was a breakout session with a speaker who told us, when you have things before you that you have to do to change your way of speaking them. Instead of saying I have to _____, you name it, whether it be “go to work today,” “clean my house today,” or “go to the store,” whatever it is, change it to “I get to _____.” It truly does change your whole outlook. 

So today, I get to go to my job and for that I am thankful! I am blessed to get to go to work to a job I enjoy with a group of people I truly enjoy being around! 

“I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” Philippians 1:3-6

I have a precious friend who found her completion in Jesus Christ yesterday. I saw on her Facebook page someone said she won her battle with ALS and truer words were possibly never spoken. I want to dedicate my thanks today to her, Emily Grenn Gray. Emily and I were no more than acquaintances in high school. But she was always someone who had a sweet spirit and a beautiful smile for everyone, even little old me, who felt out of place a lot of the time and was not amongst the popular kids. I never knew anyone to have an unkind word to say about her. We didn’t really have a reason to keep up with each other even though since she married her high school sweetheart, who graduated with me I am sure I saw her at a class reunion or two. But in the last couple of years since I have done this page, Emily and I reconnected through this page. 

She invited many of you to this page, and she has been an encouragement to me as I have written these words. As I have watched and heard of her illness progressing, there have been many mornings that I thought of her as I wrote, knowing that Facebook was becoming her connection to the outside world. They say that if you want to be a writer, you should think of your audience and who you are writing to. There have been times I have wondered what Emily would think of the words that I was putting to this page. And many times she would comment on my post and let me know that my words did, in fact encourage her. I have been in awe of the light she has shown while her body failed her. Her sweet, beautiful spirit and her love for Jesus never wavered as far as I could see. 

That is what brings me and I hope those who loved her the most comfort. I am sure that Emily danced her way into heaven and she is lighting it up even more with that beautiful smile of hers. 

She fought the good fight, she finished her race with pure grace, she kept the faith and now she has had her crown of righteousness given to her by her Jesus that she loved so well. (reference 2 Timothy 4:7-8)

It may sound crazy to some but I will miss her. Even though she and I have not spoken an audible word to each other for many many years. She touched me and my heart these last couple of years deeply. And for that I am thankful. 

I am thankful that God allowed me to cross paths with her again. I will pray for her family. Please say a prayer for them for the next few days too. And I am sure that as I write there will be many times that I will still think and wonder what would Emily think. 

In the book of Luke there is a story about Jesus healing ten lepers. Leprosy is a disease of the skin. It is contagious and because of this in biblical times Lepers had to live apart from the rest of the people. Because of that it was very socially isolating. So in this story Jesus enters a village and there were ten men living apart from the rest of society who stood at a distance and they started shouting to Jesus. 

“And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance and lifted up their voices, saying, ‘Jesus, Master have mercy on us.’” Luke 17:12-13

Then: 

“When he saw them he said to them, ‘Go and show yourselves to the priests.’ And as they went they were cleansed.” Luke 17:14

An interesting note of this story, Jesus doesn’t heal them and then tell them to go show themselves. Jesus tells them to go show themselves to the priests and AS THEY WENT they were cleansed! They had to be obedient for the healing to come. Just a side thought here, how many times do I pray for Jesus to act and I feel He is telling me to do something, but I dig my heels in and think I will just stay where I am UNTIL he acts. It was an act of obedience and faith that the lepers started toward where the priests were before they were healed. Their healing came in the going. It came in the obedience and in the walking out their faith.

But our story today is really about what happened next. 

“Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan.” Luke 17:16

This one man out of the ten, headed toward the priest in obedience to Jesus’ directive, but when his healing came, it wasn’t the priest he wanted to see. He wanted to see Jesus. I love the gratitude he felt toward Jesus. I love that he fell on his face at Jesus feet giving him thanks. This man, knew that he had received the blessing of physical healing from Jesus and he was grateful. Now the other men may have been grateful to a degree too. But it seems that they forgot to whom they should be grateful. They probably went on to the priests, they would have had to in order to be deemed cleansed to re-enter society. And they probably took part in a religious ceremony. But this Samaritan, he chose Jesus above the religious ceremony. The nine forgot to say thanks to the one who had really healed them. I wonder how many times I forget to say thanks to him for the blessings that he gives me. I pray I am always found saying thank you to Him who has blessed me far beyond what I can expect or hope for. I want to throw myself at His feet and be grateful. 

Jesus response to this man carries the healing beyond the physical. 

“Then Jesus answered, ‘Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?’ And he said to him, ‘Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.’” Luke 17:17-19

Because of his gratitude this man’s healing was not just physical. When Jesus tells him to “rise and go your way, your faith has made you well” he was also healing his heart. Gratitude has a way of doing that. The same goes for us, when we practice gratitude we will find a healing taking place in our hearts. If you heart is hurting try practicing gratitude. Walk toward the healing even before it comes. How do we do that? By doing our every day life to the best of our ability. Just do the thing, get up, go to work, stay in your community. Live it out, walk it out, whatever your “it” may be. And when we are walking in obedience to him, as we go, we will be blessed  and we will find our answers, at least we will find some of them, and as we are grateful to Him, He will also heal our hearts! 

Today I am thankful to Him for all the many ways He has healed my heart. He has healed my heart from grief, hurt, confusion, and my very own sin over and over again! May I always be found on my face at His feet, saying THANKS! 

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

This verse kept coming up in my studying on thankfulness. I must admit the first time I read it, I thought nope, I don’t want to write on this verse. The second time I told the Lord, “Lord that one is just too hard to write on.” And I kept searching and it popped up again, and I said “Ok Lord, but you have to give me the words.” Which is kind of funny because He is the one who gives me the words every day. 

But this one is hard isn’t it? Because sometimes you just don’t feel much like rejoicing and giving thanks in ALL circumstances do you? But there are reasons we can give thanks even when there is not enough money to make it to the end of the month, or there are empty spaces at the table whether it be from sickness or loss or people who can’t see eye to eye. Or maybe you or someone you love just got that diagnosis, or maybe the diagnosis is completing it’s work and you are having to watch your loved one or you, yourself are having to endure the pain of a sickness that is hard to watch and hard to endure. 

The church in Thessalonica was no stranger to hardship. Paul founded this church and was essentially run out of town in a matter of weeks. Yet, the church continued even in the midst of people who weren’t believers. The church in Thessalonica was alive and active even though it’s founder Paul wasn’t welcome in the city. Paul wrote this letter to the Thessalonian Christians to encourage them. And nearing the end of the letter is where we find the exhortation to them we are studying today. 

To “rejoice always” means yes, we are to look for something to rejoice about even when there doesn’t seem to be anything to rejoice about. As christians we can’t live as those who have no hope. Our hope is in Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. We have to know that even though our circumstances at the moment may not look good, that things can and will change. Mainly because our God doesn’t change. He is the same today that He was yesterday and that He will be tomorrow. But life has a way of changing just as the seasons come and go, the hardships come and go as well. Our joy has to be found in Him and not in our circumstances. We may be grieving for a moment but we cling to the hope that we will have new mercies every morning. 

I have learned over the course of my days what it means to “pray without ceasing”. I do get up every day and have a quiet time that sets the tone for my day, but I also know what it’s like to have life circumstances that won’t leave my mind. I know what it’s like to have that worry over a thing that seems to consume me. That’s where the praying without ceasing comes in I think. When you have that thing, that is breaking your heart, you just have to keep laying it at his feet maybe a dozen times a day. I think sometimes we make prayer too complicated. Prayer is nothing more than communication with God. I do like intentional times of sitting with Him, quieting my soul and spirit to listen for what He wants to tell me. But I love the fact that I can feel His presence all day every day and I can pray, communicate with Him all day every day too. 

And because of these things that we can know His joy even in the tough stuff of life, and we can communicate with Him in the all day, every day and we can give thanks in everything. Maybe not because the thing is happening but because you can see His hand in the thing. Or if you can’t see His hand at the moment, you can have faith that He is working behind the scenes. 

I don’t know what your circumstances are. Maybe there is a seat that will be empty around your Thanksgiving table and you are having a hard time giving thanks. Things are very expensive this year, maybe you are not sure how you will make the money and the meal come out. Maybe you are concerned about things that no one knows about. But you can know that God knows. And sometimes you just have to start small. If you can’t give thanks yet for your circumstances, tell Him. Let Him know you want to and then look around and find something to give thanks for, a sunrise, a baby’s laugh, a pretty flower. Ask Him to show you today. 

This morning the weather is a little milder so I got to sit on my porch again this morning, with a heater and and a blanket but it is my favorite place to have my quiet time. So I am thanking Him for milder weather and the sunrise He is about to paint for me. What can you find to be thankful for today? 

We are in that season that makes us pause and just be thankful. We see the posts on social media. I’ve done them too. Where we state one thing we are thankful for every day in the month of November leading up to Thanksgiving Day. I love this as it just seems to make us refocus our thoughts on being grateful for what we have. But I know , that there are times, there have been in my life too, where we are in hard seasons and it may be a little harder to count the blessings. But can I say, that is maybe when we need to be more intentional about what we DO have to be thankful for. I know from experience that those hard seasons of life can eat us alive if we aren’t careful. So for the next couple of weeks, as we lead up to Thanksgiving, I want us to look at scripture and what it says about being thankful. 

Our focus verse today comes from Psalms. 

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!” Psalm 100:4

That little verse is pretty simple and straight forward and doesn’t need much explanation. It lives in the 100th Psalm which is only 5 short verses. It is simply known as a “A Psalm of Praise” or thanksgiving. I read a short commentary from C. H. Spurgeon that bears some repeating here. 

“In all our public service the rendering thanks must abound; it is like the incense of the temple, which filled the whole house with smoke.” 

We must give thanks! When you light incense or a candle or even those essential oil lamps, they fill the whole space with fragrance. It is a sweet smell that can come from a small vessel. Giving thanks is like that too. When you allow your heart to find something to be grateful for it will fill your heart with a sweet fragrance and will be a sweet fragrance to God. If you are having trouble finding something to give thanks for, just ask God to show you. It may be something simple like a baby’s laugh or the eyes of your child. It may be a glorious sunrise or sunset. It may be whatever your circumstances are or it may be that your circumstances are making it hard for you to find something to be grateful for. If that’s the case, give thanks because you have survived another day. But above all, give Him thanks for something! I truly believe it will bring healing to a bitter soul. 

Today, I give thanks for this little community that seems to have come about by  all of you who read my simple thoughts. I have reconnected with old friends, and I feel I have made new friends. I am in awe when I see some of you share these devotions. It humbles me so. So today I am grateful for you, the reader who encourages me to keep studying and writing down whatever He teaches me. Please know I am always teaching myself with what I write. 

What are you grateful for? What can you find that you can tell Him thanks for? Write it down, maybe in a comment here or just start making your own list. Let’s be intentional at least for a couple of weeks while we lead up to Thanksgiving. Whether your home is beginning to look a lot like Christmas or if it still abounds with pumpkin spice, I think that part of what will prepare our hearts for the joy of Christmas will be giving Him thanks for the everyday mundane things of life that really aren’t mundane but are what makes up our lives! 

Oh how I wish scripture gave us more of a glimpse of the boy Jesus than it does. But the little  snippet we get tells us really all that we need to know I guess. Our focus verse comes after Jesus was left by his parents in Jerusalem and was lost to them for three days. Jesus’ family would go to Jerusalem every year to celebrate the Feast of the Passover. The year Jesus was twelve years old as the parents and all their relatives were returning home, Jesus stayed behind. When it was discovered that Jesus was not among the relatives, his parents returned to Jerusalem to look for Him and they found Him in the temple sitting among the teachers asking questions. His parents scolded Him. 

“And he said to them, ‘Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?’” Luke 2:49

While His parents knew because of His birth that Jesus was God’s Son and that would make Him special, they still did not fully understand what was happening. So Jesus goes back to Nazareth with them and scripture tells us He was submissive to them. And then we get our focus verse of today. 

“And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.” Luke 2:52

The next time we see Jesus, He is being baptized by John. And when He was baptized ….

“and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.’” Luke 3:22

It’s not hard to see the favor of God on Jesus. Can you just imagine being there and hearing the voice from heaven. My little feeble brain can’t even comprehend it. The thing we can know, however is that Jesus came to earth to save us but also to be an example to us and to teach us how to live in favor with God as well. God was well pleased with Jesus. Jesus had favor with God as He began His earthly ministry. 

Jesus taught us many things during His earthly ministry, but there is one that stands out to me and comes to mind as I study the favor of God on Jesus and how we can gain favor with God by following Jesus. The Pharisees and the Sadducees were always trying to trip up Jesus, so to speak. They did everything they could think of to entangle His words, yet Jesus was always able to come back with wisdom and it amazed the crowds, which only made the leaders more angry. One particular instance a lawyer asked Him about the greatest commandment. 

“And he said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all you soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: you shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 22:37-40

You see it all comes down to this. We can check everything back to are we loving God with all of our hearts and are we loving people. When you don’t know how to react to a situation or circumstance it all comes back to love. How do you follow Jesus? You love the Lord and His people. How do you gain favor with God? You love Him and His people. And when you have that unlovable person in front of you that you think “Oh Lord, I don’t know how to love this one.” You ask the Lord to love them through you. Everything depends on how we love God and how we love people. And when we are doing that, the rest just has a way of falling into place. I don’t mean there won’t still be hard days and hard times, and loss and grief and things we want to change in the world. But the only way to survive it and to get through it is love. That is how we grow in favor with God and with men. 

And when we do that we can be assured of God’s favor for the rest of our lives. 

“For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime.” Psalm 30:5

May we grow in wisdom, stature and favor as we follow Jesus! 

“And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!’” Luke 1:28

These were the words spoken by the angel Gabriel to Mary the mother of Jesus. Mary, sweet Mary was a young girl, who was betrothed to Joseph, a carpenter. They appear to be simple people, living a simple life in a simple town. And then an angel appears to Mary and tells her she is the favored one who will carry the son of God! 

I wonder about this young woman and what thoughts were going through her mind. Scripture tells us some of the things but I know most women would be like me and our minds race a million miles a minute when there are things that we weren’t expecting put in front of us. 

“But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.” Luke 1:29

I think sweet Mary’s mind was a racing. First of all she may not have felt very favored at first at this news. First, how is this going to play out as she has never had relations with a man? Then what will she tell her parents, what will she tell Joseph, what will people think, how will this happen again, will she need to hide away, will Joseph believe this, but wait didn’t the angel say favored one? I just think Mary would be feeling more fear than favor at this point. And the angel addresses that. 

“And the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.’” Luke 1:30

Mary asks the angel a few logistical questions concerning what is about to happen to her and the angel gives her some reassurances. And then the most remarkable thing about this remarkable woman happens. 

“And Mary said, ‘Behold I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.’ And the angel departed from her.” Luke 1:38

Mary goes from fear to faith in a matter of minutes. Which probably had something to do with why she was the favored one to be the mother of Jesus in the first place. Mary found favor with God because God knew her character before the announcement came that she would be the mother of Jesus. Mary was already known by God in order for him to have found favor with her. God already knew that while she may be afraid she would handle her assignment with grace, peace and submission early on. One thing to note here I think is when Mary was questioning the angel “How can this be?” I don’t think she was questioning him as to IF this would really happen as she was questioning how it would be carried out. As soon as God revealed His plan to her, she submitted to the plan. Was she afraid? Sure she was. Did she want to understand the process? Yes she did, but she believed God and submitted to the plan immediately. 

Now I don’t think any of us have to worry about being given a task of this multitude by God. Mary was the highly favored one to carry His son. Salvation has already entered the world through God’s son, so I don’t think there will be another task to match this one. But we can learn a few things from Mary. How many times or in fact do I ever submit to God’s plan as soon as it is revealed to me? When I question God, I am afraid I am not questioning Him about how I carry out His assignment as much as I am questioning if it has to be me? I am afraid I am more like Moses who argued with God about being the one to lead the people out of Egypt than I am like Mary who says ok Lord, I’m your girl just show me how and lead the way. I want to be more like Mary, I truly do. I want to take on whatever God decides to throw my way. I pray that when God looks on me that He finds favor in me. Favor to be the one to carry out his purposes and plans. Favor to complete whatever task He is giving me to do. 

May God find favor in us as He found favor in Mary! 

Let’s talk today about another woman who found favor with men because of the hand of God guiding her. Today I want to talk about Ruth. Ruth was the daughter-in-law of Naomi. Naomi had been married to Elimelech. Naomi and Elimelech had moved to Moab because of a famine in Bethlehem. While in Moab, their two sons took wives but over time Elimelech and the sons all passed away. The wives of Naomi’s sons were Orpah and Ruth. After the loss of her husband and her sons, Naomi decided it was time to go home. At first it appears that Naomi would take both of her daughters-in-law with her, but she implores both of them to return to their parents home. Naomi was obviously very loved by them as they both wept and protested. Orpah eventually relents but Ruth says no that she will return to Bethlehem with her mother-in-law. 

One thing that is notable in Ruth chapter 1 is that it appears that Ruth is not just following Naomi, but Ruth is following who Naomi is following. 

“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.’” Ruth 1:16

Ruth obviously saw something in Naomi that maybe Naomi did not even see herself. Naomi is bitter because of all she had lost, but she apparently still loved the Lord and wanted to follow Him. And while doing that, she had shown something to Ruth that made her not want to return to her life as a Moabite woman and to follow the gods of Moab. Ruth was a Gentile and she chose to follow God. 

So Ruth follows Naomi and they return to Bethlehem. And Ruth goes to work. In those days in Israel the poor of the land who had no means would go to the fields and would glean from the grain that was dropped or left behind to get food. 

“And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, ‘Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favor.’ And she said to her, ‘Go my daughter.’” Ruth 2:2

There is nothing here that suggests that Ruth knew to which field exactly she would go. In fact in verse 3 it says “she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz.” Now Boaz was a relative of Elimelech, which meant he could be a kinsman redeemer to Ruth. In those days a kinsman redeemer was a male relative who would have the privilege and responsibility to act on behalf of a relative who was in trouble or deceased. The kinsman-redeemer would care for the widow and possibly even take her in as his wife but in turn would receive the property owned by the deceased. Isn’t it just something that Ruth just “happened” to come to a field that was owned by a relative of her deceased husband. 

Boaz takes notice of Ruth and asks about her and when he does, he is told that she is the daughter-in-law of Naomi and that not only did she follow her mother-in-law to Bethlehem, but that she is now caring for her by working to get grain to feed them. Boaz was impressed, Ruth had found favor with him. And Boaz tells her to stay close to the women who are working for him and he instructs the men that they should not touch her. 

“Then she said, ‘I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, for you have comforted me and spoken kindly to your servant, though I am not one of your servants.’” Ruth 2:13

Boaz also goes so far as to have Ruth sit down with his servants to eat and he instructs his servants even more to intentionally drop more grain so that Ruth can pick it up. When Ruth returns home she tells Naomi about Boaz and his kindness to her and Naomi realizes that he is a kinsman redeemer to her family. 

I love how this story unfolds because as it is playing out the people in the story may not necessarily see God’s hand guiding them, but as we read it and in hindsight they can surely look back and see the hand of God guiding them. First God guided Naomi and Ruth back to Bethlehem, then He guided Ruth, first to even go to glean in the fields and then to the exact field that she should land in where there would be a relative of her husband. He guided Boaz to take notice of her and then as the story continues to unfold He guides the plan Naomi puts into action to let Boaz know that Ruth is interested in him. 

Our lives can be much the same way. We don’t always see the hand of God guiding us in the moment by moment things of life. But when we look back and we see the fields we ended up in and the people we crossed paths with, we can see that God was guiding us all along and granting us favor with the people we need to find favor with to walk out His plan for our lives. 

The ending of this story is in a lot of ways the beginning of ours as well.  Boaz does indeed redeem Ruth and marry her. And when he does she gives birth to a child and they name him Obed. Obed is the father of Jesse, who is the father of David. And we all know that this is the lineage of Jesus! Which is another notable thing in the story. Ruth, being a Moabite was an unlikely player in the lineage of Jesus. God often uses unlikely people to carry out His plans. But He will use, whoever is following Him, and those who follow Him will find favor! 

May we find favor with men as we follow Him!