"and the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son." -Ruth 4:13b

"14 Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel! 15 He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.” -Ruth 4:14-15

"Not For a Moment"

You were reaching through the storm

Walking on the water

Even when I could not see

In the middle of it all

When I thought You were a thousand miles away

Not for a moment did You forsake me

Not for a moment did You forsake me

After all, You are constant

After all, You are only good

After all, You are sovereign

Not for a moment will You forsake me

You were singing in the dark

Whispering Your promise

Even when I could not hear

I was held in Your arms

Carried for a thousand miles to show

Not for a moment did You forsake me

After all, You are constant

After all, You are only good

After all, You are sovereign

Not for a moment will You forsake me

Not for a moment will You forsake me

And every step, every breath, You are there

Every tear, every cry, every prayer

In my hurt, at my worst, when my world falls down

Not for a moment will You forsake me

Even in the dark, even when it's hard

You will never leave me

And after all, You are constant

After all, You are only good

After all, You are sovereign

Not for a moment will You forsake me

"We have all been through tough moments of suffering when we wonder where God is and are confused about what he is doing. If you read through the biblical narrative, you will soon have to let go of the conclusion that hardship means God is absent, distant, uninvolved, or uncaring. Behind dark clouds of difficulty is a God who is actively working for the good of his children. God regularly takes his children places they never would have planned to go in order to produce in and through them things they never could have produced on their own. It's important to recognize that the workings of Gods grace aren't always predictable or comfortable. Often when we think grace has passed us by, God's grace is at work, just not in the way we expect. The book of Ruth, one of the greatest biblical stories, contains a compelling and beautiful sub-story. On the surface Ruth is a beautiful love story, and one of the few biblical stories with women as main characters. But there is a deeper, more significant love story in the book of Ruth. It is the story of God's unshakable, unstoppable love for his children. This story of human hardship and human love is also God's assurance that he will exercise his wisdom and his sovereignty, he will remember his covenant promises, he will be faithful, and, through hardship, he will deliver gifts of kindness and grace to his own. Although the story of Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz is compelling, the one on center stage is the Lord. Through the vehicles of hardship and human love, God establishes the direction of the rest of the redemptive story." -Paul Tripp

The Point: God's redemption through Jesus has the potential and power to change my story.

"And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course[a] of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.[b] 4 But[c] God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." -Ephesians 2:1-10

1) Has my story been changed and redeemed by Jesus?

"12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God." -John 1:12-13

"11 And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life." -1 John 5:11-12

2) Where is God calling me to be apart of His story of redemption?

"God often prefers not to make a big splash on history's stage, but He works nonetheless. And He gets the glory when extraordinary outcomes occur in the lives of ordinary, yet faithful people. In Christ, God has redeemed us from the penalty and vanity of sin. We who were spiritually empty are now filled with God's Spirit. We are heirs of Christ's kingdom and of an eternal inheritance that never perishes. Even now, God is at work in our lives to build Christ's kingdom. This means that the most seemingly mundane situation is a sacred moment—an opportunity to contribute to the unfolding of God's redemptive plan. God uses our faithfulness in daily responsibilities and ministry opportunities to accomplish more than we typically realize…That something bigger is how God uses the faithfulness of godly people in everyday settings to build His kingdom in all its fullness." -Dean Ulrich