The Power of Saying Yes to God

There are so many lessons to learn from the Book of Ruth, even though it only has 4 chapters.

I could tell you about the relationship between a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.

I could tell you about what it means to have a family-redeemer and the significance of it.

I could even tell you how it was a story of conversion in a young woman’s life.

But today, I’m going to talk about the POWER of a single “Yes”!

One yes, changed Ruth’s entire life’s story. It changed who she was or who she thought she should be.

Let me give you a little back story about what is going on.

A woman named Naomi, along with her husband and two sons left the town of Bethlehem and went to the city of Moab. While in Moab, the two sons got married. Later, Naomi’s husband and two sons died. She was left with nothing and decided to make her way back to Bethlehem.

Her two daughters-in-law decided to accompany her.

Naomi told both of them to return home to their mothers. She wished them well and hoped they would both find new husbands.

Although they both insisted on returning back to Bethlehem with her, one daughter-in-law made the choice to go back to her family.

Ruth had a choice to make. She stood there as she watched her sister-in-law walk in one direction and her mother-in-law heading in the opposite direction.

In that moment, Ruth decided that she was going to follow her mother-in-law to the land of Judah.

She told Naomi in Ruth 1:16 “your people will be my people and your God will be my God.”

The Benefits of Saying Yes to God

Ruth was determined. She had made up her mind Who she was going to follow and that simple yes changed the course of her life forever.

Even though she had no idea where it would lead she knew she had to follow.

I’ve been in church for a very long time and God is still guiding me in the right direction. He lets me know when I’m heading in the right direction and also let’s me know when there are some places in my life that I could do better.

No matter how long we have followed the will of God, we all have seasons when we will say yes and we have no idea where it will lead.

Ruth left everything that she knew and followed her mother-in-law into unknown territory.

She went to work as soon as she entered the city of Bethlehem.

Because of the way of life in these times, she knew it would be very difficult for either of them to ever find a husband. So she had to work to make ends meet.

Maybe while she was in the fields gleaning barley, with sweat running down her face she began to sing “Yes Lord, Yes Lord. From the bottom of my heart, to the depths of my soul. Completely yet!”.

Maybe she was thinking ‘even if I don’t know where this leads, even though I am working day in and day out in a place that is so unfamiliar to me, I’ll just say completely yes.’

She had left everything that she knew and went into uncharted territory. Not only were the town and people new to her, but this God that she was serving was new as well.

She had no idea what her future held but she had come to know a God who held her future.

But even in the midst, God began showing favor in her life.

He began allowing her to prosper in the work she was doing.

She was favored and was allowed plenty of shelter while she was working in the fields.

She had plenty to eat and plenty to drink and was satisfied.

She even found favor in the sight of those around her.

Saying Yes To God’s Call

Back in the days that the book of Ruth was written, once a woman’s husband was deceased it was customary for the next of kin to take on the wife and property in the name of the deceased husband. This is called the family redeemer or kinsman redeemer.

Ruth found favor in the sight of Boaz, the owner of the barely field that she gleaned from, who unknowing to her was their family redeemer.

Her mother-in-law knew this could change their lives for the better. She came up with a plan and sent Ruth on her way to talk with this man. You see, Boaz was a very rich man.

It was a single yes of obedience. A walk in the right direction.

And because of saying yes, God completely directed Ruth’s path to a life of favor, blessing, abundance, and redemption.

I believe there are women who are reading this today that are perhaps like Ruth in the beginning of this journey.

You are standing at a crossroad with your past in one direction and the complete unknown in the other direction.

You are debating whether it’s worth being uncomfortable for a bit. Do you really want to put in the work that is involved?

Is it worth the sweat, the dirt and the grime?

You may be looking down that road of uncertainty, maybe even longing for it because there is a pull inside of you, and wondering what God would have in store for you.

All along what you do not realize is the POWER of your YES.

You will find that you will begin to find favor in the sight of God.

Everything you touch will prosper.

The people around you will call you blessed because of the God you serve.

I don’t have to “call it out” because you already know how God has been dealing with you.

You already know the direction He is trying to lead you in.

You can feel that tug in your prayer time and Bible reading time.

The power of a single Yes…it has the ability to change your live forever!