I will try not to overuse that ‘u’ word that’s been used too many times in 2020 … you know, unprecedented. I would like to think that the word for 2020 is RESILIENT. A resilient object ‘springs back into shape after being bent, stretched & compressed’. I am sure many of us have felt stretched & pulled apart in 2020.
Recently, USA Today commemorated the 100th anniversary of a woman’s right to vote in the United States by recognizing ‘Women of the Century’. One common thread in these women was their resilience to overcome adversity. One of the women highlighted in this article was Helen Keller. She defied all odds despite becoming blind & deaf from a childhood illness. Because she did not allow her physical challenges to stop her, Keller went on to become the first woman to receive an honorary doctorate degree from Harvard University. She also became an advocate for millions with disabilities.
Earlier this week, I heard about Anika Chebrolu, a 14-year-old who discovered a molecule that could block the COVID-19 virus from infecting human cells. It turns out the impetus for her beginning this research was the result of her suffering from a severe case of the flu.
While Helen & Anika’s impact to our world are quite impressive, there is one woman who pushed through the obstacles life threw her way and became a part of the lineage of Jesus Christ. It would be none other than resilient Ruth.
Ruth was a Gentile from Moab but through marriage she would know & worship the God of Israel. Unfortunately, Ruth, her mother in law, Naomi, & sister in law, Orpah, were left as widows. When Naomi decides to return to her homeland in Bethlehem, Ruth is determined to stay with her. Ruth’s devotion & loyalty are evident in Ruth 1:16, ‘For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people’. Ruth’s commitment to Naomi was so deep, even when Naomi had nothing to offer to Ruth.
Friends, it is easy to be ‘determined & strong’ during the high points in life. It is our response in the valleys that define us. Ruth did not allow her disappointment to stop her. Instead, she turned to the God of Israel and maintained her poise and posture despite an unknown future. We eventually see how she was instrumental in changing the course of history.
Honestly, there were times in 2020 when I could only focus on my pain. Recently, I had a redecorating bug and decided to move around some furniture. In the process of moving things, I hurt my back. For the next two days, I could not get my mind off of the pain. I had gotten into a habit of regularly working out during this season, and even cancelled those workout sessions. Eventually, my work out partner persisted that I come back, so we did some intense stretching and low impact movements to get rid of the pain. You see, I was too focused on my pain that I could not look beyond it to get myself better until my friend intervened.
As the amazing story of resilient Ruth unfolds, Ruth pushes past her loss to meet her future husband, Boaz. He is used to redeem Ruth and bring her out of her desperate circumstances just as Jesus Christ our kinsman Redeemer did for us. Ruth chose not to focus on Naomi’s bitterness (Ruth 1:20). Her eternal outlook resulted in her being one of five women (all who faced great social difficulty) to appear in the genealogy of Jesus Christ. Despite their pain & losses, God used these women, and He can use each of us.
You may have been denied an opportunity or faced what seemed like an insurmountable adversity. Each of us are part of a God’s sovereign story. Friends remember, He uses us in spite of us. We are reminded of this in 1 Corinthians 1:28 – ‘God chose what is low & despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are’. God is not looking at your shortfalls. He is looking for ordinary sinners like us to unfold his eternal purpose. ~Grace
Photo by David Wirzba on Unsplash
