21 Days of Prayer - PersevereSample

When You Have the Opportunity to Quit

Have you ever faced two forks in the road where one option is the easiest way out and the other seems daunting, but you know it is the right thing to do?

Choosing to persevere when you have the opportunity to quit requires faith, trust, humility, and courage. God will bless your growth through perseverance and reward your faith in Him, as is evident in the book of Ruth.

A brief history is necessary to understand how and why Ruth is an excellent example of perseverance when quitting is an option. Ruth and Orpah are the daughters-in-law of Naomi, but sadly, both of Naomi’s sons and her own husband died, leaving three women alone in Moab. Naomi was from Bethlehem, but her son’s wives were Moabites. Because of the time they lived in, the girls had to return to where Naomi came from or go back to their own mothers. Naomi urged them to take the easy way out--go home to their mothers and find new men to marry. Although heartbroken, Orpah went back to her mother.

On the other hand, Ruth said, “Don’t urge me to leave you or turn back from you. Where you go, I will go, and where you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me” (Ruth 1:16-17).

Ruth had faith in “Naomi’s God”--our Heavenly Father. She took the more challenging journey and placed her trust in Him, no matter what would happen to her, to stay with Naomi on the off chance she could help her mother-in-law.

To make a semi-long story short, when Ruth and Naomi arrived in Bethlehem, Ruth went to the fields to gather grain the harvesters left behind. The owner of the field happened to be Boaz, who was a relative of Naomi. Boaz gave her food and more grain. God showed Ruth favor and reward for her obedience and perseverance. After some time, Naomi told Ruth to uncover Boaz’s feet and lay at them while he slept to show her interest in marrying him.

In the end, Boaz married Ruth, and they had a child named Obed, who was now Naomi’s heir. If Ruth had not persevered when she could have quit, David (David and Goliath, King David, etc.) would not have been born. Boaz and Ruth were David’s great-grandparents.

So, when you are faced with a choice between the easy (possibly wrong) way or the hard (possibly right) way, consult our Father in Heaven. As long as you obey Him, He will bless you in your perseverance!

Monica Barnes

Prayer Point: Where do you want to quit? Pray about this and ask God to give you perseverance to keep going.