Who has never got up and thought “ I don’t want to
go to work today?”
Right! I knew it wasn’t just me. Life is,
unfortunately, not 100% filled with moments of doing thing we love.
I remember a time when a dear classmate/childhood
friend had Leukemia. Every Saturday, I drove to Emory in Atlanta to be with her
most of the day. One Saturday I took my mother. After we had our visit and we
got in the elevator to go, mother started to cry and asked how I could do that
every week. By the Grace of God is my only answer cause when someone goes
through a bone marrow transplant, the next few months is hard on one’s
appearance and body. I didn’t have to do it, I would have rather not have gone
through that with her, but I have cherish memories of that time.
And now, I am doing the same with my mother. Which
brings us to our second habit:
THIS WEEK’S READING:
RUTH 2:4-13
As you can see in our assigned reading we are going
to reread some verse from last week and talk about the need to put our feelings
aside.
QUIT QUITTING VERSES:
PSALM 3:3
ZECHARIAH 4:10
1 PETER 5:6
PROVERBS 25:8
MATTHEW 11:28
Remember
that when Naomi arrived back to Bethlehem, she was bitter. She had lost hope.
When we don’t feel hope, we have to find hope.
Ruth
did just that. Ruth made her home in a foreign land. Instead of depending on
her mother-in-law, Naomi, she took the initiative to look for some work to help
provide for them both. She wasn’t afraid admitting her need or working hard to supply
it. When Ruth went out to the fields, God provided for her.
If
you are waiting for God to provide, consider this; He may be waiting for you to
take the first step to demonstrate just how important your need it.
As
I mentioned last week, gleaning was generally for the poor; widows, orphans and
foreigners. READ Leviticus 19:9-10. The
widows and poor would come behind the gatherers and pick up any leftover grains
left on the edges of the fields.
This
job was menial and tiring and even perhaps degrading, but Ruth did it
faithfully. She put her feelings aside to do the task that was needed.
What
is your attitude when the take you have been given is not up to your true
potential? The task at hand may be all you can do, it may be the work God wants
you to do or it may be a test of your character that can open up new doors of
opportunity. And may I add, opportunities that we could NEVER imagine.
People
say they don’t want anyone’s “left-overs”, but there are times when we just
have to get behind people to pick up their leftovers.
Leftovers
can be of many different things. Maybe someone is dropping some Joy by you
today. Maybe some faith, some strength, some love, some peace, some hope. PICK
IT UP!!! TAKE IT!!! RECEIVE IT!!! There are people everywhere dropping
leftovers all around us. We just have to choose the right leftovers and “glean
it”. STAY AWAY from those negative leftovers.
Now
Ruth did this work the best she could. She caught the eye of Boaz. Maybe it was
first by her looks, but then he noticed her working ethics. Then when he
summons her, Ruth humbled herself to him.
Favor follows those who follow through despite
how they feel. Honor follows those who allow humility to shape them, and for
those who do not give up, they will see the faithfulness of God.
Don’t
let feelings dictate your days. Chose to follow through despite how you feel.
The limitations of your assignments are within the strength of God. Hang on to
that hope, the confidence that faith will give you the strength to push through
every hard and trying circumstances
Q.U.I.T
strategy.
Q – QUESTIONS WE NEED TO
ASK AND ANSWER
When have your feelings convinced you to quit? What
burden(s) do you feel like you truly cannot give to God?
U – UNDERSTANDING THE WORD
Write a summary of Ruth’s story so far. What part of
her story have you enjoyed the most.
I – INTO THE PROMISE
. Which of the Quit Quitting Verse spoke to you the
most this week and why?
T – TURN SOMETHING AROUND
Do you tend to pay attention more to the commands of
your brain or the feelings of your heart? Finding a balance for both is
important. Write down one practical step you can take in order to keep both in
check.
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