A few years ago I preached a message on the book of Ruth which can be found in the Bible and is a very good read. Many people major on the fact that Boaz redeemed Ruth after a traumatic journey for her and liken the story to what Jesus did for us on the cross as our redeemer. It’s a great story and the allegory is a good one. However I remember at the time that the Lord showed me another aspect of this story and that was of the consequences of choices we make in life, good or bad. Recently I have been considering some of these things again and so I thought it may be helpful to look take another look.

As you read the story you see that there are a number of change points in peoples’ lives as they make choices based on circumstances they face.
First, Elimelech chooses to take his wife and 2 sons into a land that looks plentiful when there is a famine in the land he is living in.
It sounds like a great idea until you realise that they were sworn enemies of Israel. He made a dumb decision based only on making sure his stomach was taken care of. Even though he tried to escape death he met death just the same and his sons married the enemy. What he thought would solve the problem changed his destiny. He made a choice and it changed his life. It’s an extreme example but it does provide a good lesson for us.
After these events Naomi his wife makes a choice. She could have blamed her husband and just stayed where she was becoming bitter over the years. However she heard that God was blessing Israel and so she made a choice to return to the place of blessing.

When she had made her decision she had a family get together with her daughters in law who were from that land and let them choose whether to go with her or stay in the place they knew. Her sons had died so they were free to decide for themselves.

One of them chose to stay in the land with her own people, kissed her mother in law good-bye and we don’t hear anything of her again. However the other, Ruth, chooses to go to Israel with Naomi based on what she had heard about Naomi’s God. That choice changed her life forever. At the time it did not look like a good choice, there was no promise of food and no likelihood that she would be able to marry again as she was going into a foreign land. However something about the promise of God caused her to put her trust in Him. Eventually we know there was a man named Boaz who was prepared to marry her and her subsequent son, Obed, was the great grandfather of King David placing her in the blood line of Christ.

Looking at it again it made me think how often even as Christians we make choices based on what seems like a good idea at the time but we eventually live to regret it. We so often feel we have the answer or can work it out for ourselves and don’t involve God in the decision.

Elimelech could have turned to the Lord but he chose to escape to a place that seemed better at the time but eventually proved to be his downfall.
Naomi and Ruth chose to move based on faith and trust in God who would always bring blessings in the long term.

I want to encourage you to see that circumstances will always happen in life and we are not immune from them. However how we handle them makes a huge difference to the outcome.We must faithfully turn and seek the Lord when things arise and allow Him to show us the right way through.

I have often said you cannot change your past but God can change your future. It all depends on what you choose.We all have a past and there are things in it that we regret or wish we had done differently. Some of those decisions have had consequences that we are living with now and perhaps we feel are always going to be there and we just have to put up with them.

That does not have to be the end of it as this story proves. It demonstrates to us that by putting God into the mix of your choices the outcome can be different and be beyond your dreams. Making a choice to do things God’s way from now on can totally change your future and give you a life of blessing and adventure.

One of Naomi’s daughters gave a kiss good-bye, the other chose to cling to her. Turning this idea on it's head how many times do you choose to cling to the results of wrong choices for years when you need to kiss them good-bye and choose instead to cling to the right thing and throw yourself on God.

I realise that for some this may be the first time you have considered taking this option and like Ruth perhaps you cannot see at this moment what difference it will make. However, you are placing your trust in the creator of the universe, who knows all about you, loves you more than you will ever know and is always out for your ultimate good. He has in mind a future that is full of hope and joy and he can turn your life around so you will never be the same again.

Make that wise choice today and allow God in.