Rich in Faith

God’s kingdom includes the whole world. And He wants to give it as an inheritance to people that love Him. Widows and their children are one of the special categories of people that God is interested in. He wants to comfort them by giving them His kingdom.

But the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, it is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17). It is the ability to think God’s thoughts, speak His words, feel His emotions and act as He would in every situation in life. When you attain to this level of life, all previously impossible things become possible. For with God, nothing shall be impossible (Luke 1:37). However, faith is required to inherit these kingdom blessings of God.

James 2:5

Listen, my beloved brethren: has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?

What is Rich in Faith?

1) Faith is a demonstrated abundance of trust in God that He will do what He said He would (Hebrews 11:1). The two operative words in this definition are ‘demonstrated’ and ‘trust’. It is not faith to God until you demonstrate by your actions that you really believe Him. This is what it means when the Bible says faith without works is dead (James 2:17). God does not rely on lips service.

2) Faith chooses to obey God when it is not convenient, and despite the availability of shortcuts. It chooses to win by doing things God’s way alone. It says no to sin and shortcuts. It loves God with all the heart, soul and body.

3) To be Rich in Faith therefore is to have God do a work in you that makes you believe in His word and ways, such that you are willing to risk all to follow Him. You are rich in faith when you have made up your mind that it is either God’s way or no other way. It is this kind of faith that must be observed in widows and their children for them to benefit all that God wants to give them.

4) You therefore cannot proceed on this 7-Step Boaz Process unless you are convinced it is of God, and you have made up your mind to live by it.

Ruth, a Woman Acquainted With Grief

Ruth was a childless widow to whom God dedicated a book in the Bible. This is God’s way of letting widows and their children know that their welfare is important Him. God wants widows and their children to understand how to relate with Him and receive the blessings He wants to give them.

Ruth was a young lady of Moab who got married to an Israeli man. She however did not have any child for about 10 years of marriage. Then her husband Mahlon died, further complicating her issue. Her brother-in-law died soon afterwards. Prior to this, she had lost her father-in-law as well. Three (3) were therefore left in the house without any breadwinner – Ruth, her mother-in-law Naomi, and her sister-in-law Orpah. Life must have looked bleak!

Ruth, a Woman of Faith

One day, Naomi decided to relocate to Israel having heard that the economic crisis there was over. Ruth and Orpah decided to go with her. However, on the journey, Naomi spoke frankly to them. She painted a factual but hopeless picture of the future waiting for them in Israel. Naomi believed the two ladies stood a better chance if they sought second marriages in their native country of Moab. Orpah agreed and said goodbye. But Ruth did not.

There was something else that had taken root in Ruth’s heart. It was something beyond the picture of the future painted by Naomi. It was a faith in the God of Israel she had seen in her father-in-law, her husband, and her mother-in-law. She wanted the God of Israel and was willing to get hold of Him at all cost. She decided God was going to replace her dead husband Mahlon – not as a husband, but as a defender. She was going to hide under God’s wings and trust Him to bring out good from the ruins her life had become (Ruth 2:11-12).

This was Ruth’s faith! It is the faith God wants to see in every woman and child that has gone through the terrible pain of losing a husband or a father. Do you have this faith in you?

Hebrews 11:6

But without faith it is impossible to please him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him