I can't believe that it's only 6:30 and I'm already up. I did go to bed ridiculously early last night though, so when 5:30 rolled around this morning my body was ready to get the day started. LoL.
I've been doing a study on Ruth for the past month, using a wonderful daily bible study book called Living Beautifully. I absolutely love the layout of the book because you're not just reading, but interacting, journaling, looking up scriptures, formulating responses to some very thought provoking questions.
The name of today's study was Risk Taker. It was talking about how Ruth, in obeying her mother in law, Naomi, in going to Boaz at the threshing floor risked her reputation, as well as her emotional and physical well-being. Going in to a man and lying at his feet was something that really only prostitutes did. If she had been discovered by anyone besides Boaz, her reputation would have been forever tarnished and perhaps irredeemable. She risked her emotional well being by opening herself up to rejection from Boaz. She risked her physical well being because if he had rejected her, he may have barred her from continuing to glean in his fields, which would have had a profound effect on both Ruth and Naomi's physical well-being.
What can we give a God who already has everything? Our obedience. And sometimes, to obey God immediately, completely, and cheerfully is to take great risk. The word risk is defined as a possibility of loss or injury; peril; a dangerous element or factor.
Sometimes it is easier to stay in the position we are currently in than to jump out of our comfort zone and risk losing something or someone. It has been my own personal experience that the times that I have taken a risk, and obeyed God, unbelievable blessings have followed that choice. Sometimes God asks us to risk what we have, so that he can give us something better.
Take a moment and answer these questions...
- I wish I had .......
- I will never regret .......
- I'm going to risk ........
To laugh is to risk appearing the fool
To weep is to risk appearing sentimental
To expose feelings is to risk exposing our true self
To love is to risk not being loved in return
To live is to risk dying
To hope is to risk despair
To try at all is risk failure
But risk we must, because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing. The man, the woman, who risks nothing does nothing, has nothing, is nothing.
- Anonymous
** Quotes and questions taken from:
Living Beautifully: A Study in the Books of Ruth and Esther. By Lenya Hetzig & Penny Rose.
Like this!!! (LUBAB!)
ReplyDelete