I underlined the words with my fingertip and laid my Bible in my lap. Gazing out the window, I thought about the words I’d just read. Words pointing towards waiting, resolving, and making an intentional difference in a loved one’s life.
I knew waiting was not my strong point. Sitting in settled stillness or practical patience had never been my automatic response. I wanted issues resolved right NOW, thank you very much. While I did love to sit in contemplative study or savor a lazy summer day, these activities differed from waiting. They were still doing, but doing something of my choosing and desire. Waiting wasn’t ever my jam. Waiting meant the answers and circumstances weren’t in my control. They depended on someone else. Waiting prevented me from moving on from an issue or towards a decision until someone else made a call.
Picking my Bible back up, I re-read the verse in the book of Ruth.
Ruth 3:18 “Naomi said, ‘My daughter, wait until you find out how things go, for he won’t rest until he resolves this today.” CSB
Here was Ruth waiting for an answer. The part I really loved? It sounded like when it was in Boaz’s ability to make a difference, he portrayed a dedicated determination to see it through. I skimmed back over Naomi’s prediction, “He won’t rest until this is resolved.” In my mind, I paraphrased, “Hey Ruth, he will make this happen today!!! Boaz is going to bat for you.”
I read over this verse several times, and I fell in love with it. Clearly, Boaz was intent on making things happen on Ruth’s behalf. Stepping up with compassion and provision, he intended to see this matter through. He eagerly wanted to meet her need.
“Don’t our hearts long for someone willing to care for us and about us?” I thought, “Particularly when we find ourselves in a place of waiting, unable to do it all on our own.”
A person willing to resolve the problem or question. A friend offering love in action. Someone willing to take part in the antidote against loneliness, need, hunger, or early mornings.
Making a difference and living out love happens in the little moments of life, tucked into our everyday actions and tasks. Often wearing a very unassuming face.
We discover it in the hands changing the oil in his wife’s vehicle, servicing it for a few more hundred miles.
It’s layered in the sandwich painstakingly put together with precision because of her son’s preference. She spreads mayonnaise on the bottom bun, piles turkey high, adds a slice of cheddar and finally, finishes it with the top bun, sans mayonnaise.
Making a difference sparkles in the happy surprise notes hidden through the house, brightening the lonely days for an aging neighbor.
It nods from the delivered bouquet of bright blooms, a “Thankful For You” tag fluttering among the flowers, showering celebration on a friend.
Find it in the bright colors of a bag of peanut M&M’s added to the grocery cart as a surprise treat for your teenager.
It drips from the coffeemaker as she prepares his favorite mocha and hands it to him. Fingers brush, eyes exchange smiles, and it’s out the door for another workday.
Hear it in the hum of tires as your friend navigates the roadways to the airport, dropping you off to catch an early morning flight.
Whatever it looks like, be it small or large, each act symbolizes a solution, an intention to impact people’s lives and bring happiness and delight to their day.
Boaz was resolved to make a difference for Ruth and Naomi. The few short chapters of Ruth show him as a man of character and integrity. Further, Boaz is a foreshadow, a picture of Jesus our Redeemer. It’s perfect, isn’t it?
Isn’t this exactly what Jesus does?
He reaches out to us with intention.
He ransoms us.
He resolves this matter today.
He redeems us, and most of all, He rejoices over us!
And the best part, friends, we don’t have to wait!
We already know how things go. Jesus chose us, was crucified for us, conquered death, and wears the crown victorious!
Sit still. Linger long. Bask in His great love for us!
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2020
Leave a Reply