Wise Counsel

1Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, ¡§My daughter, I need to seek some security for you, so that it may be well with you. 2Now here is our kinsman Boaz, with whose young women you have been working. See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. 3Now wash and anoint yourself, and put on your best clothes and go down to the threshing floor; but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. 4When he lies down, observe the place where he lies; then, go and uncover his feet and lie down; and he will tell you what to do.¡¨ 5She said to her, ¡§All that you tell me I will do.¡¨ Ruth 3:1-5 (NRSVA)

13So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. When they came together, the LORD made her conceive, and she bore a son. 14Then the women said to Naomi, ¡§Blessed be the LORD, who has not left you this day without next-of-kin; and may his name be renowned in Israel! 15He 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 borne him.¡¨ 16Then Naomi took the child and laid him in her bosom, and became his nurse. 17The women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, ¡§A son has been born to Naomi.¡¨ They named him Obed; he became the father of Jesse, the father of David.

Ruth 4:13-17 (NRSVA)

8Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, 9¡§Go now to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and live there; for I have commanded a widow there to feed you.¡¨ 10So he set out and went to Zarephath. When he came to the gate of the town, a widow was there gathering sticks; he called to her and said, ¡§Bring me a little water in a vessel, so that I may drink.¡¨ 11As she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, ¡§Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.¡¨ 12But she said, ¡§As the LORD your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a jug; I am now gathering a couple of sticks, so that I may go home and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.¡¨ 13Elijah said to her, ¡§Do not be afraid; go and do as you have said; but first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterwards make something for yourself and your son. 14For thus says the LORD the God of Israel: The jar of meal will not be emptied and the jug of oil will not fail until the day that the LORD sends rain on the earth.¡¨ 15She went and did as Elijah said, so that she as well as he and her household ate for many days. 16The jar of meal was not emptied, neither did the jug of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD that he spoke by Elijah.

1 Kings 17:8-16 (NRSVA)

I sometimes have trouble trusting God. I don¡¦t mean the big things, like where I will go when I die. I mean the practical everyday things. I have trouble waiting for God to do things. Typically I have to grab back onto whatever I prayed for God to take care of in my life. I give it to him; I take it back!

When my kids were in their teens I would pray for them every day. But, even in the times when I knew I should take my hands off and let them make a mistake or two ¡V the kind that would really teach them something without hurting too much ¡V I would still hover over them like a mother hen with chicks. Sometimes in the midst of a tough ministry assignment I would pray for God to come through. Then I would scratch and claw my way through to another big mistake!

I have trouble trusting God! It was that way when I was 9 at my Grandma¡¦s funeral. I prayed, I pleaded; I yelled at God through the tears. I asked for some relief, and it didn¡¦t seem to come; so I decided my way was better than God¡¦s.

You too?

Are you in a hurry sometimes just like me? Do you have trouble trusting God? You want that job ¡V please, dear God, let me have that promotion. And then the other guy gets the promotion and you¡¦re ticked. The next time a promotion comes up you¡¦ll do it differently, invite the boss to dinner¡Kcreate a little shortcut here and there.

You want that mate ¡V oh man, she¡¦s just so fine! She¡¦s not a believer, but man, Lord, you understand. I know she¡¦ll change if only I can get her to marry me.