Blessed to Be a Blessing
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Have you ever done everything right and still ended up in a season you didn't choose?
You followed the guidance you were given and made the faithful choice. You took the next step even when you couldn't see where it led. And yet...here you are, waiting and transitioning. You’re standing in a place that doesn't feel like the blessing you expected.
Ruth knew that feeling. She didn't wake up one day and decide to become part of Jesus' lineage. She didn't have a vision board with "great-grandmother of King David" as her five-year goal.
She just knew one thing: stay faithful to the person God placed in her life. Take the next step and trust Him with the rest.
Her blessing came later…much later. And that's the part we forget when we're in the middle of our own Ruth season.
When Faithfulness Doesn't Feel Like Favor
Ruth's story starts with loss. Naomi's husband and both sons died, leaving three widows, grieving together. When Naomi decided to return to her homeland—a place Ruth had never been—Ruth had a choice: return to the familiarity of her parents' home, or follow her mother-in-law into the unknown.
She chose Naomi. She chose faithfulness over certainty.
That decision shaped the next phases of her life.
She was a widow, poor, and in a foreign land, gleaning leftover grain in fields just to survive. If you'd asked Ruth in that moment if she felt "blessed," what do you think she would have said?
But Ruth didn't make decisions based on how things looked in the moment. She stayed faithful to Naomi. She followed instructions and gleaned where she was told. She rested when she was told, and she approached Boaz when she was told.
For every act of obedience, a blessing followed. Not always immediately. But consistently.
She was blessed in her troubles. She was blessed as she sought direction. She was especially blessed for her faithfulness to love and provide for both Naomi and herself.
Scripture says, "If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good of the land." Those words were written for God's people thousands of years ago. They're still true for us today.
When we're willing to follow those who have authority or responsibility in our lives—when we're obedient even when we can't see the outcome—we position ourselves for blessing.
Not always an immediate blessing. Not always the blessing we expected. But a blessing that goes beyond what we could imagine.
Ruth's faithfulness led her somewhere she never could have planned. She married Boaz and had a son, Obed. And when the women of the community saw the fullness of God's blessing on her life, they told Naomi: "This daughter-in-law of yours is worth more than seven sons."
Those words came AFTER Ruth's faithful season. After the hard choices. After the obedience of carrying the heavy loads.
Listen, Ladies, your worth is not defined by other people's ideas of who you are. Sometimes we make decisions based on what people say. I suggest you focus on who God says you are and the plans He has for you.
Let people's words be spoken because you've done what you desired—and what you've done is worthy of being spoken of.
Control the Narrative
You may wonder how you're going to change the direction of your life.
Here's the truth: It's not totally up to you. You can't control the timing. You can't control what others do. But you can control what you do next.
Do the next faithful thing.
Not the perfect thing. Not the thing that guarantees the outcome you want. Just the next faithful thing.
For Ruth, that meant: get up, go to the fields, and glean grain. She did this one day at a time and one bundle of wheat at a time.
For you, it might mean: send that email. Have that hard conversation. Take that scary first step.
The next faithful thing may not be what you originally expected.
That's okay. Let it be whatever it is. I sometimes say, "it is what it is!" Some people see that as negative. I see it as acceptance.
You are not totally in control of what happens or the results. What you ARE in control of is how you think about the situation.
Because what you think about it dictates what you do about it.
What you do dictates where you end up.
Like Ruth—blessed to be a blessing, or not.
You decide.
Who's Your Person
Who's in your life giving you sound direction, instructions, or even encouragement to do what's best?
As a Christian woman, when you don't know what to do, just stand faithful and obedient, taking one step at a time. God will take care of you. He will send His servant to be your person and to help guide you along the way.
Ruth didn't wake up with the idea to move to a foreign land. That was Naomi's decision.
It was Ruth's choice whether to stay with Naomi or return to her parents' home.
Ruth's decision resulted in immeasurable blessings for both women.
Modern-Day Ruth
Ruth's faithfulness led to blessings beyond her imagination. She became the great-grandmother of King David. Part of Jesus' lineage. But she didn't know that when she was gleaning in the fields. She just took the next faithful step.
I see women like Ruth every day. Women building businesses, families, and legacies with God at the center.
My daughter, Taneka, is one of them.
Before launching her professional basketball career overseas, Taneka wrote Winners Win: Unlocking the Potential to Live Your God-Given Dreams. She wrote it during a season of waiting, after completing her master's degree in London, but before the door opened to play professionally.
That waiting season changed her heart posture. In the book, she talks openly about what happens when God says "Not Yet." She writes about purpose, discipline, and what it means to be a Life Winner.
A Life Winner is one who utilizes their God-given abilities to impact the world for a greater purpose. - Taneka Rubin
After five seasons as a professional basketball player overseas, Taneka chose to leave the sport. She could have been bitter about ending her career. She could have been lost. Instead, she chose faithfulness.
She came home and continued sharing authentic encouragement through Instagram and guest podcasting. She began working with student-athletes from various perspectives. Using her platform, her story, and her love for helping young people, she started building something that mattered, something that matters for others.
Just like Ruth was blessed for her faithfulness to Naomi, Taneka is blessed for her faithfulness to God's call. Her mission is to prepare the next generation of student-athletes to win in life. Several ways Taneka does this are through her Winners Win message and CHAMP For Life curricula.
Young people are discovering their purpose because Taneka said yes to God's next step.
Take Your Next Faithful Step
Ruth didn't have a GPS. She didn't know where her obedience would lead. She just knew she needed to stay faithful to the person God placed in her life and trust Him with the rest.
Are you blessed in ways you could not imagine because of your wise decisions? If so, congratulations. Keep going and continue being faithful. Keep trusting God with the outcomes.
If not, course correct. Make decisions that take you toward obedience, faithfulness, and loyalty like our Biblical counterpart, Ruth.
Your next faithful step is waiting. Take it.
I wrote 30 letters to God representing a woman struggling with life’s burdens.
Each letter ended with a whispered prayer because sometimes that's all she had. Women tell me reading them brings them to tears—not sad tears, but 'me too' tears.
If you're in a season where you're asking, 'where's my victory?', this ebook might be exactly what you need.
