This Time Next YearSample

This time next year, God wants us to look back and see that we lived fully ALIVE because He is fully ALIVE in us. When we look at the story of Ruth & Naomi, we see a story of redemption & restoration. Naomi, who once lost her own son, gains a son again. Ruth, who once had a complete family to lean on, gains a family of her own when she marries Boaz and births Obed. The entire story from all different lenses of the characters teaches us that whatever the enemy tries to steal, God restores!

We especially see restoration in Naomi’s life when Naomi literally and figuratively gets her milk back (Ruth 4:16). Not only is she able to supernaturally nurse a baby again, but we see life & joy flood back into her bones. When she got over her situation, when she got over herself, when she got over her present circumstances, she was enjoying life again! 

In every season, God has a comeback story mapped out for us. Whatever the setback may be, whatever the hurdle may be, whatever the disappoint, the let down, the frustration may be, God’s got an amazing comeback in store for us. This time next year, don’t look back and say, “I’m still bitter,” just as Naomi originally says in Ruth Chapter 1. This time next year, let your story conclude with you getting your life back, just as Naomi does in Ruth Chapter 4! You can stay bitter, or you can get better—but you can’t do both. You can get set free, or you can stay stuck—but you can’t do both. 

It’s about time we turned our mess into a message, our test into a testimony, and our mundane into momentum. This time next year, God wants us to look back and see His faithfulness, how he gave us the opportunities to begin on the path in front of us, how we took the first steps in the natural to get us where he needed us to be, how He divinely appointed the right people to come across our path at the right time on the right day, and how He has a plan for our current season, which is directly proportional for His eternal purpose in our life.

But every step we take matters.