Faith in the Ordinary

Faith in the Ordinary

“Don’t miss God in the ordinary moments of your life, for you will have many of those!” -Richard Blackaby

In the days when the judges ruled in Israel, a severe famine came upon the land. So a man from Bethlehem in Judah left his home and went to live in the country of Moab, taking his wife and two sons with him. -Ruth 1:1

Elimelech “My God is King”

Naomi “Pleasant” or “Delightful”

Mahlon “Sick

Kilion “Wasting Away”

Orpah “Stiff-Necked” or “Fawn”

Ruth “Friendship”

But Ruth replied, “Don’t ask me to leave you and turn back. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. 17 Wherever you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord punish me severely if I allow anything but death to separate us!” -Ruth 1:16-17

Extraordinary moments are built through ordinary acts of faithfulness.

Ruth 2:1-13

“When you harvest the crops of your land, do not harvest the grain along the edges of your fields, and do not pick up what the harvesters drop. Leave it for the poor and the foreigners living among you. I am the Lord your God.”  -Leviticus 23:22

“As it happened”

Naomi “Pleasant” or “Delightful”

Ruth “Friendship”

Boaz “Strength”

Your past and family history do not disqualify you from being used by God. His grace can redeem your story and work through your life.

⁶ Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. ⁷ Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

⁸ And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. -Philippians 4:6-8

Uzziah (2 Chronicles 28, 1 Kings 15) Pride

“Who is that young woman over there? Who does she belong to?” -Ruth 2:5

“But I also know about everything you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband. I have heard how you left your father and mother and your own land to live here among complete strangers. 12 May the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge, reward you fully for what you have done.” -Ruth 2:11-12

Character is revealed through ordinary actions.

Reputation grows as others witness those actions.

What do my everyday choices reveal about who I am—and how do my actions point others to Jesus?

Faith:

-Keeps moving when the future is uncertain

⁶Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. ⁷ Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

⁸ And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. -Hebrews 11:1-2

-looks for God’s fingerprints in ordinary places

-recognizes that God often provinces through people

As you step into another ordinary week, will you trust God enough to keep moving, look for His fingerprints, and either become part of His provision for someone else or allow someone else to become His provision to you?

Will you be faithful to what you are called to in the daily grind of life, or in name only?