Day 5 – Who will help me {trust} when my cup is empty?

I will trust in the Lord with all my heart and lean not on my own understanding.  In all my ways I will acknowledge You, Lord, and You will make my path straight.   Proverbs 3:5 & 6

As a young career woman, God placed many believers in my path – mostly in my workplace.  A manager gifted me with a brand-new Bible and invited me to a weekly Bible study held on Fridays in the conference room before work.  Another young woman, my peer, much more mature in her faith walk, prayed with me.  And a young man challenged me to memorize Scripture.

I look back on those early, learning how to walk in faith, days and see myself much like I imagine Ruth.  A foreigner in a strange land.  I eagerly followed others who looked like they were following God.  I {trust}ed their leading and as they spoke the word of God, prayed and left truth on the ground behind them… I gathered all that I could possibly hold.

The young man who challenged me to memorize Scripture handed me Proverbs 3:5 & 6 and told me I would need this truth.  I received it as if he had given me the key to a secret door. 

I memorized the popular Proverbs passage as a commitment prayer to God, making it a personal vow to Him.

In turn, I have offered this same scripture to many who have come alongside me on the journey of faith seeking to follow Jesus.  I believe these words as I have experienced change and found freedom by sowing these words into my mind and my heart. The truth embodied in these verses bear fruit, which makes them easy to share with my neighbor.

I do {trust} You God.  With all my heart.  I lean not on my own understanding.  I acknowledge You.  In all my ways (I’m looking for Your way).  And I know You will make my path straight.

But then sometimes when all around me is extremely disorienting and unfamiliar, the pathway tangled with briars, and the scenery all brown, white and grey with no clear landmarks…  I wonder if I really {trust} God.

And then suddenly in the driest place, a cup of cold water encouragement is lavished on me from someone I’ve had the pleasure to encourage in the past.

This is the amazingly beautiful picture of discipleship I am gleaning from Ruth 2:11-12 today.  We are given in this passage an onlooker’s view of God’s work in Ruth and Naomi.  Boaz speaking to Ruth…

“But I also know about everything you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband. I have heard how you left your father and mother and your own land to live here among complete strangers.  May the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge, reward you fully for what you have done.”

Ponders:

In Naomi’s driest place of her faith journey, Ruth was offering the cup of cold water to her mother-in-law.  Ruth was trusting in the Lord as she was taught by Naomi.  Ruth was acknowledging God and holding Naomi’s hand while God was making their path straight.

Ruth {trusted} God until Naomi was restored and could {trust} the Lord’s goodness again on her own. We are called by God to do this for one another. This is discipleship.

• Do you have a relationship like the one portrayed between Ruth and Naomi?
• Are you in the Ruth role currently or the Naomi role?
• How have you seen the Lord bring a discipleship relationship around full circle?
• If you haven’t been encouraged by this type of mentoring relationship and would like to pursue discipleship, will you ask the Lord to place someone in your life to live the journey with you?  God is faithful.  He doesn’t want us to walk alone.
• As you ponder {trust} in God’s word, what is Holy Spirit teaching you?  Do you trust the Lord with all your heart?  Will you make Proverbs 3:5 & 6 your personal prayer?