Session 1

It’s complicated

From Ruth: A 7-Day Devotional

In a conversation about his own future, a friend once said, “God sometimes puts two good options before you and simply says, ‘Choose.’” There are moments in our lives when both choices would honor Jesus.  There’s no wrong answer, yet we struggle to make the “right” decision out of an obsession with finding God’s will or taking the “right” path.

In Ruth 1, Naomi and her daughters-in-law are on the road from Moab to Judah when Naomi tells them to turn back. She gives them every good reason why they should go back to their fathers’ houses, and she points out that there really isn’t a good reason to continue with her. Orpah takes the more desirable path and returns to her father’s house. Ruth insists on going with Naomi, an option that seems lonely and is marked by Naomi’s bitterness (Ruth 1:20-21).

We don’t know if Orpah’s life turned out well from that point forward, but we have no reason to believe otherwise. And given the rest of Ruth’s story, we can safely say that the choice she made was ultimately a good one. Things turned out well for Ruth and Naomi.  

We often think of our next steps as clear-cut decisions, like getting baptized or tithing. In those cases there’s one way forward: Take this step. But sometimes our next step isn’t so clear. So often, we are consumed with finding God’s will for our lives we forget that sometimes the best way to move forward is simply to ask ourselves, “Will this glorify God?”

God’s will for your life is that you continue taking each next step in your relationship with Jesus. Trust in His sovereignty over your life and know that when you’re deciding between two good things, He will help you choose well.

Reflect:

• Where do you go when you have a big decision to make?
• What’s one way you’ve seen God take your bad decision and use it for your good?
• Are you faced with a difficult choice today, one where it seems like there’s no right answer? What do you sense God telling you to do?