Time To Glean In 2014...a message for singles

 

To glean means to gather or collect bit by bit. If we think of this spiritually, we are to gather and collect many things as we grow in our walk. Jesus describes Himself in John 15:5 like a vine and we are the branch. As we abide and remain in Him we naturally bear fruit. We are to glean from the Word devotionally, from our Pastors, and from our husbands as we seek to grow in our walk. We are to seek to glean from the Lord through prayer and through watching others that are further along in their walk with the Lord. As we glean we are watered and nourished and soon become a healthy and vibrant fruit bearing tree. The key as John 15:5 says; is to abide. "If you abide in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit." There is a condition..."If" you abide....meaning you have a choice to remain or not. Many times when we do not chose to remain, we miss out on the blessings found in abiding in Christ.

We  read in the book of Ruth about a love story in which Ruth's husband dies and she remains with her mother in law, Naomi. Ruth does not have much to offer a man...she is a Moabite, a foreigner to the Jews. She comes from a different world and enters an whole new world as she watches her mother in law worship the one true and living God. She sees something different and wants it for herself. As she starts her new life with Naomi, she sees that she needs a husband. But how? Who will want her? 

As this beautiful story unfolds we see the bigger picture...this story is not about Ruth and her future mate...it's about us and our Redeemer. Ruth was lost and found her way to God through watching her mother in law pray, trust God and see His miracle of provision for their lives. We're told that Ruth came into the field to glean and remained there all day. She went to gather little by little and remained there. It was her choice to go and get food for herself and Naomi. She could have just gleaned a little and left. But she didn't...she stayed all day and it's good she did....because God had a plan. He planned all along to have her future husband there at the right time to ask about her. Had she stopped gleaning early she would've missed him...or should I say, he would've missed her...as he was the one who inquired about her. 

I see this happen often in the church with young guys and gals who have grown impatient while waiting for a spouse. They love the Lord and glean from His field, but then get tired and give up right before it's time. They settle for less than God's best for them...thinking that they've put in their time and God hasn't delivered yet... so,  "let me go and find someone on my own." Notice that Ruth was in the field for one reason alone...to get food...not to find a husband. As you concentrate on getting fed through  the Word and church you will find that the more time you spend gleaning the more opportunity you will have to be noticed. Boaz noticed Ruth and asked about her...she was there all day in the field...that's what they all noticed about her....her commitment to glean as much as she possibly could.

Are you looking to be married...glean in the field as much as you possibly can. Look to God first and He will provide for you in His perfect timing as you concentrate on remaining yielded to Him. Be more concerned about being the right person rather than finding the right person. And you will find, as with Ruth, that it will all happen very naturally as you are out in the field gleaning the goodness of the Lord instead of striving in the valley of bitterness and discontentment. Seek to make 2014 a year of gleaning all that you possibly can from your Kinsman Redeemer...your Jesus!