Faithfulness comes in all different sizes and packages. I was reminded of this as we celebrated our 29th wedding anniversary this weekend camping glamping. I don’t do tents; we have a camper.
Our celebration was a month late, and it didn’t start off as smoothly as I wanted. (Do camping trips ever start off as planned?)
Our best made plan was to meet at the RV park because I was already in Myrtle Beach due to work. But Mike’s meetings had taken much longer, and by the time he arrived, it was dark, and I got lost trying to find him.
Hunger, weariness, and frustration set in, and I confess anger began to brew.
However, by the time I finally found him in the dark, my Boaz had the camper set up.
After a meal of Chinese take-out and a glass of wine, our weekend was off to a much better start, and I was reminded of my husband’s patience, provision, and faithfulness. If I had been the one who drove the camper down and was running extremely late, I might have canceled. I wouldn’t have continued trying to set up. Time and time again, I’ve watched Mike’s determination.
How Our Relationships Reveal God’s Faithfulness
In The Book of Ruth Bible Study, I share a lot about my relationship with Mike Lee. Most of it is about our early married years. Those years were tough, a war, three children, and many moves kept us clinging to each other, but something happens when you reach this stage in marriage.
If you’ve been married for over twenty years, you know the romance changes. It’s easy to become roommates rather than lovers, and you can find yourself focused on your differences rather than what you have in common. I think this is why so many couples divorce after decades of anniversaries.
Because life can take over, we need “faithfulness” glimpses of God and our spouse to remind us how much we’re loved. We need to intentionally wear this filter over our eye balls to look for faithfulness.
When we look for faithfulness, we will see it. When we’re looking for mistakes or those places where we aren’t being loved as we think we need, we’ll find those. It all depends on our focus.
Intentionality is Key
I promise, this post is really going to come back to Ruth, Boaz, and our faithful God, but first, I have to tell you what this intentional weekend to celebrate 29 years of marriage did for me. We weren’t in Bermuda or a fancy restaurant, nor did we do anything out of the ordinary to celebrate. But what God did, and Mike Lee did was remind me of my husband’s faithfulness.
This crazy glamping trip got us out of our day-to-day schedule to simply be together and help me remember why I love the man I married.
The same lesson applies to our relationship with God. We need intentional time with him away from the ordinary. We may need to do a spiritual fast. Maybe a silent retreat for a few days.
Boaz’s Faithfulness
As a result of his faithfulness to the rules and His God, Boaz didn’t tell Ruth he’d redeem her that night on the threshing floor. Instead, he told her there was another redeemer! But he promised with his life that he would redeem Ruth if the other man wouldn’t.
“As surely as I live . . . ” promised Boaz.
He would faithfully, and tenaciously help Ruth.
Bite of Bread Weekly Reading and Prompts
Come dig into these scriptures with me as we study Boaz’s promise and how this aligns him with God’s heart and Jesus. We’ll go all the way to the woman at the well. It’s all connected, my friends. Here’s what the reading plan and prompts will be. You can print them off here.
Monday: Ruth 3: 12-13
“Although it is true that I am a guardian-redeemer of our family, there is another who is more closely related than I. 13 Stay here for the night, and in the morning if he wants to do his duty as your guardian-redeemer, good; let him redeem you. But if he is not willing, as surely as the Lord lives I will do it. Lie here until morning.”
Prompt: Boaz spoke two powerful things: 1) There was another kinsman-redeemer in line before him. 2) He promised with his life that he’d redeem Ruth if the other kinsman didn’t. Boaz follows the rules, but he is also a man of his word. He will do whatever he needs to for Ruth to be redeemed. He represents our Jesus. Could these two characteristics be helpful to you in your life today? Take a minute to pray, and then write down what you need Jesus to do. Could a period of waiting be because Jesus needs to do something else first?
Tuesday: Numbers 14: 21-24
“Nevertheless, as surely as I live and as surely as the glory of the Lord fills the whole earth, 22 not one of those who saw my glory and the signs I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times— 23 not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their ancestors. No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it. 24 But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it.”
Prompt: God promises this with His life. “As surely as I live,” He promised. One group will not receive the blessing, but another one will. Who will see the promised land? What do we learn about God in this passage?
Print the Reading Plan
Wednesday: Isaiah 49: 18-19 ESV
Lift up your eyes around and see;
they all gather, they come to you.
As I live, declares the Lord,
you shall put them all on as an ornament;
you shall bind them on as a bride does.
19 “Surely your waste and your desolate places
and your devastated land—
surely now you will be too narrow for your inhabitants,
and those who swallowed you up will be far away.
Prompt: What does this passage and Wednesday’s verses have in common? Do you see God’s faithfulness? On His life again He promises their restoration, growth, and peace. Boaz promises the same for Ruth, her redemption and peace no matter what. How has God been faithful to you?
Friday: John 4: 10
Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”
Prompt: I love this story. I love Jesus’s intentional timing, questions, and grace. This broken, desperate woman needed to drink from the eternal spring. She needed Jesus. If you’ve been rejected and abused as she had, as surely as Jesus lives today, He has eternal life for you that starts in this life and flows into eternity. Your Redeemer has Redeemed you. All you have to do is ask for a drink of the living water He offers. His Holy Spirit is the water.
Thank you for Your Faithfulness
I’m so thankful. Thank you for reading today. Thank you, Jesus for redeeming me for eternity, and thank you Mike Lee for being my faithful, tenacious Boaz.
I pray to keep my eyes open to view God’s faithfulness. Life never looks like the movies. It’s better. It’s tangible faithfulness chosen every minute of everyday by our Redeemer and the people he places in our lives to love.
Join Me Wednesday Night
Speaking of faithfulness, I will be LIVE on Facebook Wednesday night at 7:30 ET again! That’s if all technology allows. Hope you can join me as we spend more time digging into these scriptures, especially the woman at the well. If you can’t meet us, visit my YouTube channel later.
PS. Don’t forget to download or print the reading plan to spend some quality time with Jesus!
Andy,
Loved, loved, loved your blog this morning about our husbands! The example was so unique, but so true. We often forget our husbands are a gift from God and that they love us so much!
Thanks, Sandy!