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The Voice of Emotion

Discovering our life's purpose will require us to want to hear God's voice and our willingness to move when He calls.

After the deaths of her husband and two sons, Naomi, Ruth's mother-in-law, decides to return home to Bethlehem. Ruth and Orpah begin the journey with her, but in Ruth 1:8, we see Naomi making the first of two attempts to convince her daughters-in-law to return to their mother's homes in Moab. Scripture tells us that Ruth clung to Naomi, which begs the question that inquiring minds want to know:

Why would Ruth choose to leave the familiar for the unfamiliar?

Did she feel an overwhelming sense of duty to Naomi?

Was the grief from losing her husband doing the talking?

Maybe she just liked her mother-in-law, or did she hear what the good God had been doing for the Israelites and wanted to be a part of that? What about you?

Maybe you've heard God has plans for His people (Jeremiah 29:11), and you want a part of that.

Or, like Esther, you've been told that you were born as the right person at the right time to have a significant impact. (Esther 4:14)

Maybe you have experienced God's calling in your life and are excited about it! Your spirit wants to step into the unknown, echoing those bold words of the prophet Isaiah, "Here am I. Send me!" (Isaiah 6:8)

Except it's all good until your flesh begins to consider the sacrifice His call for your life will require. Suddenly, the voice of emotion begins to flood in, telling you it would be easier and more secure to stay where you are.

Maybe you feel too afraid to do what God calls you to and are convinced it's just too uncomfortable to move. Can I tell you something? It's never comfortable to leave what you know. NEVER!

I'm sure Ruth thought twice about going with Naomi. It would have been more comfortable for her to return to her home and to all things familiar, including the other gods the Moabites worshiped.

But comfort was not God's call on her life.

And it's probably not the call for your life or mine either.

However, the voice of emotion will try to convince you that hard is not better.

That difficulty is not beneficial.

That it can't be wrong if it feels so right.

My friend, let me encourage you to keep moving in the direction of God's voice, even when your heart starts to quiver. This journey of faith is not about how you feel. It's about where your feet go. Don't stop just because the road gets a little rocky and you're afraid you will fall.

Ruth is in the Bible today because she defied the voice of emotion and kept walking toward what God told her to do. She is proof that we can too.

Prayer:

Father God, help me. Help me not only hear Your voice but be willing to move when You call, even if it means leaving the familiar. Help my feelings not get in the way of how I function for Your kingdom. I confess that the voice of emotion sometimes gets the better of me, and I have tried to elude Your call on my life. I confess that my spirit is willing, God, but my flesh is weak. Today I ask that You give me the faith of Ruth to take the very next step into the unknown. Let my hope, confidence, and future be in You, Lord. In Jesus' name, I pray, with thanksgiving, Amen.