Ruth lost everything. So she thought. She lost her husband. Home town. Sister-in-law. And now she was about to lose her adopted home and mother figure. Ruth could have succumbed to the anxiety that I am sure was plaguing her heart. What will happen to her? Her mother-in-law gave her the green light to return home, but that was no longer home for Ruth. She must have felt trapped and at a total loss. I mean that is what pain tries to cause us to see, right? There are no solutions. But while in darkness, Ruth made one move that changed her history. “Where you go I’ll go, where you stay I’ll stay (Ruth 1:16).” She had no clue where she was going. But she had obviously come to love and trust her mother-in-law to the point where she knew, I’d rather go with her, than try to make it up on my own. Trust got Ruth to her promised land of provision, love, family, acceptance and a highlight in the lineage of Jesus Christ.
This is what Trust does. Often we do not know the next right step, especially in seasons of pain. What will happen to us? Will God come through? We ask this, because although we know he has time and time again, time has also caused us to forget the power of those prior moments. We question God about the solutions and fret and worry and cry and scream, because we cannot see the solutions clearly. And the fear of the process is the most palpable thing. We have forgotten that God is sovereign and in that sovereignty we will be cared for and are being held. That God got us through the last day and he will get us through this one and every day thereafter until we have reached our own promised land and our eyes behold the other side of the season, and there will be another season. There will be goodness along the way. Oh girl, there will be so much healing along the way. Healing in ways you did not think were possible. No, you will not forget the moments that caused you pain, but the pain of those moments will no longer blind you. You will be free of them. Their power lost. Your victory secure. Your God handing you the head of your enemy. And you will laugh, laugh in the face of what you thought was going to break you down. You have risen, and not in the end, but along the way. God beckons you, darling. “Victory, healing, peace, wholeness are this way. But only I know the way, and I only light up one step at a time, not to frustrate you, but so you know the way clearly, and so the path does not overwhelm you. You have the strength you need for the next right step, I promise. Reject the lies that say otherwise, and I will heal the girl in the past that is scared of this trust walk, I will come along side her too. So darling, what do you choose? Will you go where I go?”