Compete Or Converge
“[Ruth] bore a son…They called
his name Obed.
He is the father of Jesse, the
father of David.”
Ruth 4:13, 17
Walking
through campus one day, a seminary professor came upon a custodian reading the
Bible during lunch hour. The professor asked what he was reading. “Revelation,”
the custodian said. “I’m sure you don’t understand what it means,” said the
professor condescendingly. “Actually, I do,” he replied. “It means Jesus wins.”
In
the face of life’s challenges, it is important to remember that ultimately God always wins! Since His plans are
always in the victory lane, it is infinitely wiser to converge with His will
rather than compete with it.
In
the story of Ruth, God providentially set the stage for Boaz to rescue Ruth and
Naomi from a life of poverty and the shame of not having an heir. Ruth could
have been bitter about her status as a young widow, and Boaz might have thought
that as a foreigner Ruth was not worth his time. But he recognized the hand of
God in his circumstances
and converged with God’s plan to
provide for Ruth’s needs. The best part is that their story doesn’t end there.
Salvation for the world was yet to come through their descendants—first David
and then Jesus (Matthew 1:5-16).
We can compete with God’s plan and
pursue our own agenda, or we can converge
with God’s plan and join the winning side. The choice is ours.
Choose
not a path that God can’t bless,
For it will end in
sure defeat;
But choose God’s
path of victory
And with His plans you won’t compete.
D. De Haan
God’s plans always lead to
victory
From “Our Daily Bread,”
copyright 2008 by RBC Ministries,
“Even as you cannot outrun God when you dodge His will, it is equally impossible to outrun His care when you are in His will.”