By GARY ANDREWS
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For those of us that have been married for many years understand what true love and commitment means. My wife and I have stood by each other in all type situations, whether bad or good. The Lord has truly blessed our marriage as He has many others.
When we took our wedding vows we said them with all sincerity of keeping and believing in them. With the divorce rate of nearly 50% most marriages of today are not consummated with the belief of longevity, even if this is what is intended to be. So many outside variables and interest tear apart good marriages because the commitment level is not there on one or both partners. This is often true in our business dealings also where we have failed to honor commitments we gave our word on.
Looking in the Old Testament book of Ruth we find a commitment that goes above and beyond of what is expected. Ruth follows her mother-in-law, Naomi, to her home land and cares for her in her later years. Ruth’s and Naomi’s husbands have died and when times are tough on these women they return to Naomi’s homeland to find a better life. Naomi, being a godly woman, tries to get Ruth to stay behind with her own family, in her homeland of Moab, instead of going with her. Through her love and commitment to her daughter-in-law, she felt she would have a better life if she stayed with her people instead of going with her.
Ruth was committed through her love for Naomi to go with her and care for her. The Lord was also in this relationship since Naomi trusted in the Lord and Ruth was raised with pagan gods. The Lord was able to use Ruth in a tough situation that went good.
Many of us bail out on situations that seem beyond repair. All of us need to realize that nothing is beyond repair with the Lord’s help. He will answer our prayers and help us find solutions to our problems if we will talk to Him and lean on His guidance and His word.
If we have the Lord on our side then all of our commitments will be honored and treasured. Just as my wife and I said our “I do’s” over 40 years ago, the Lord has tremendously blessed us. The first thing we did after our ceremony was to get on our knees and ask Him to be Lord of our marriage and household. He has never failed us.
When you the know the Lord, you know true love and commitment.
Prayer: Thank you again Lord for my wife of many years and for the blessings you have provided for us. I pray that anything I say or do will be with your guidance. Amen.
(Suggested daily Bible readings: Sunday – Ruth 1:15-17; Monday – Ephesians 5:1-2; Tuesday – Genesis 22:1-14; Wednesday – 2 Corinthians 2:12-17; Thursday – Joshua 24:14-15; Friday – Mark 1:16-20; Saturday – Isaiah 6:8.)
Gary Andrews is the author of Encouraging Words: 30-days in God’s Word. To obtain a copy go to his website www.gadevotionals.com.