My word is 'Ruth'.

I have struggled, and still struggle with discerning Gods voice. I question whether I think He said something to me or if I just made it up in my head. I usually know when He speaks to me in dreams but most of the time they are messages to pass on to someone else. But every so often, His voice is very, very clear. Not in a 'blinded by light, earth shattering, booming voice from the sky' sense, but for me, and it's different for everyone, I don't hear or see anything, I just know it, and it doesn't leave my head. Its normally just a word... like 'February' or 'Harvest', and I just know what He's on about. Well, for the last few weeks, my word has been 'Ruth'.

Now, I'd heard of Ruth, of course. I knew there's a whole book in the bible about her. I knew she's faithful to Naomi, I knew she marries Boaz and I knew she's vaguely related to Jesus. The rest was just a blur, it's just a small book in the bible, it can't be of THAT much significance, right? WRONG! Oh, how wrong could I be. 

Ruth is an incredible woman who displays the traits of someone I aspire to be. Here are the main points I feel impacted me the most:

1. Her faithfulness is unconditional.

2. She fixes her eyes on God at all times, despite her losses.

3. She gleaned, which meant she had to put all pride behind her and do what she could to feed herself and her family.

4. Boaz notices her and picks her out in a crowd. Not because of the clothes she was wearing or how much time she spent on her hair and makeup, but because of her humbleness and commitment.

5. She is patient. 

6. Because of all this, she gave birth to Jesus' great great great great (x27... yes, I counted) grandfather. 

I mean, it doesn't get much better than that! 

One of my favourite verses in Ruth is when she says to Naomi:

'Don't urge me to leave you or turn back from you. Wherever you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay' (1:16) -Its so profound, its almost like the words of Jesus are being spoken through her hundreds of years before Jesus was even born. This is a promise spoken not only from Ruth to Naomi but also from Jesus to us. And it was something that I found so encouraging, and I hope you do too. 

I'm no preacher, I don't know the bible like the back of my hand, I'm no good at praying out loud, I don't have all the answers and more often then not I get it wrong anyway... But I do know the power thats captivated in each and every page of the bible, sometimes you just need a nudge to dive in and explore it. My friend said to me today "the pages in the bible are so thin, I'm surprised they don't tear"... the pages are like faith; fragile but strong, often confusing but the answers never far away, there are long chapters and short chapters, the scribbles and notes mean its not always perfect and pristine but its beautiful and full of goodness, and most importantly of all, it's rooted in Jesus.

So my word is Ruth. I know God is calling me to be more like Ruth, more humble, more faithful, more patient- and through these things He will provide and do immeasurably more than I could ever ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20). 

What's your word?