I recently spoke at a conference where the theme was, “There is more to your story.” What great news! We don’t have to settle with how our life is right now…  forever. There is something more. But even if you agree there is more, do you ever wonder, “How do I get there?” 

In my Bible, there’s a big, bold heading that says, Ruth Marries Boaz! This is where we’re all trying to get in life, to the giant heading that declares whatever we were going through is now over. But for there to be an ending, there has to be a beginning and a middle.

The beginning is the cause of whatever happens (or doesn’t happen) that makes us think our story is over, or it will never change. For Ruth, her father-in-law, brother-in-law, and husband died, and she was about to lose her mother-in-law, Naomi, too. Ruth faced a heartwrenching decision: stay in her homeland with all she’s ever known, or leave everything behind to follow Naomi back to Judah. 

Through an emotional exchange, Ruth chose to go with Naomi. She declared:

“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.  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 NLT

Ruth’s faith and steadfastness are admirable. She was in the middle of her story, which is where all of the good stuff happens — though it doesn’t usually feel good at the time. It didn’t feel good to Ruth either. It was hard. She certainly mourned all she had lost and wrestled with the uncertainty of how to move forward. Yet, in the middle is where the miracle happens.

It’s easy to focus on the ending of Ruth’s story, where everything worked out! But there was so much more. 

Ruth lived out what James would later write about: “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing” (James 1:2-4 NLT).

In the middle is where her faith was being tested. I can’t imagine losing my husband, saying goodbye to my family forever, and moving away to a place I’d never known without any guarantee of provision or security. But Ruth did just that. She journeyed to a land of complete strangers in a new culture with a different language, values, and laws. 

Every step of her story could have been filled with defeated what-ifs. She could have asked herself, What if things get worse? What if I never get married? What if I’m lonely forever? 

Instead, Ruth decided ahead of time she was going to trust God. 

Years ago I did a Bible study on our thought life. I read verses that told me not to worry about anything, cast down vain imaginations, and think about things that were good, lovely, pure, and of a good rapport. During that study, the Lord challenged me to change my what-ifs from negative to positive. Instead of thinking, “What if my child gets in a wreck?”, I think, “what if my child is safe all of the days of their life?”

We could say things like:

What if my marriage flourishes?
What if I get that promotion?
What if this sickness/disease goes away?
What if things turn out well?

In the middle of her story, Ruth had to redirect her what-ifs — and she did. She was a delight to be around. People talked about her in positive ways. In Ruth 2:11, Boaz mentions the good things he’s heard about her. Even in her hardship, her reputation for goodness went before her. What does our reputation say about us in the middle of our struggles?

The middle may seem hard but all of the good things in the Bible happened in the middle. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were in the middle of a fire when the fourth man showed up. Moses was in the middle of escaping slavery and being pursued by an army when the Lord parted the sea.  Ruth was in the middle of sorrow and uncertainty when she met her Boaz.

When we trust in God He’ll bring us through too. 

We see the middle; God sees the miracle. There is a reason James says to count it all joy! James understands the progression of how our middle hardships lead to our ultimate growth and good. 

We have to have faith in the middle. Faith to leave our country and everything we know. Faith to not bow to the image and be thrown in the furnace. Faith to raise our staff and tell two million people to walk through the water. 

Get excited in your middle. God already sees your miracle. Trust Him. Your bold letter heading is coming.

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