Ruth 1:16-18 – But Ruth replied, “Stop urging me to abandon you!  For wherever you go, I will go.  Wherever you live, I will live.  Your people will become my people, and your God will become my God.  ¹⁷ Wherever you die, I will die—and there I will be buried.  May the Lord punish me severely if I do not keep my promise!  Only death will be able to separate me from you!”  ¹⁸ When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped trying to dissuade her.”

As I read, prayed, and meditated on the Word of God today, a Word or Thought kept surfacing.   That word was Commitment!   But it was total, not superficial.  It was actual, factual, visible, or demonstrated.

That first surfaced in Ruth 1:16-18.  Ruth’s declaration had a sense of desperation.  She said, “Do not pressure me to forsake you.”   She had made a total lifetime commitment to her husband.  Her commitment was a change of family.   She had left her past and entered her present.   Now, although her husband had died, she was still a member of her new family.    That is us in Christ.   We have left the old and entered the new, and although we could go back, we choose to remain.

In verse 18, Naomi SAW that she was determined.   It was a visible, demonstrated commitment.    That is the commitment we need to make to Jesus.

In her journey from destitution to restitution, she experienced the care and keeping of the kinsman redeemer.  His actions gave him the confidence to stand firm.  In Ruth 2:16, Boaz gave a directive to his workers (a similar ministry of angels to us).  He said, “Leave her handfuls on purpose!”  Those little unexpected blessings are not coincidences; they are Directed Blessings!

In Hebrews 13, we have a key foundational truth upon which to hang our hope and to inspire us to keep pressing on and remaining faithful.  The key to contentment, confidence, and faith is found in Hebrews 13:5: “I will never leave you, nor forsake you.”    That promise and commitment from Jesus is our anchor and confidence.   It opens the door to verse 6, enabling us to shout – “The LORD IS my helper; I will not be afraid.  What can man do to me?”

If my commitment is unshakable and for life, and I believe His promises, then I have such a settled peace that keeps me in good times and bad.  I then experience the promise of James 4:7.   I am submitted to God, and out of that place of submission, I resist the devil.   He has no choice but to flee.   My progression to possession is through demonstrated profession from the heart.

Total commitment leads to total victory!

May the power of commitment propel you into the fullness of God!