Follow the Thread: What to do when obedience doesn’t give instant answers (Ruth 3)
Following the Thread: Ruth 3
Blog #5 – Uncover His Feet, They Said. It’ll Be Fun, They Said.
🧵 Subtitle: What to do when obedience doesn’t give instant answers.
If we were sitting across from each other today—coffee in hand, laundry waiting, toddlers suspiciously quiet—I’d probably start with this:
My phone’s sticky because my toddler found it.
My brain’s foggy because I’m still silently panicking over whether the cup my kid is drinking from is the one I packed this morning… or the one that fermented under the car seat last week.
Either way—let’s talk Ruth 3.This chapter is wild.
A midnight proposal. A nervous threshing floor encounter. Boldness, humility, obedience, risk.
Naomi has been quietly paying attention—watching Boaz, remembering God’s law, noticing God’s hand.
And Ruth? She steps right in line with that wisdom. She gets dressed. She heads to the threshing floor. She uncovers feet in faith.
It’s awkward. It’s gutsy. It’s holy.
And then Boaz says it:
“Wait.”
Of course he does.
Because sometimes, after all the obedience, all the prayer, all the barley bundle hustle and hope—you get a pause.
She Paid Attention
Naomi’s not manipulating this moment—she’s walking in wisdom.
She’s seen Boaz’s integrity. She knows God’s Word. She’s lived the ache of waiting, of wondering, of scraping by.
So she connects the dots.
She becomes the kind of woman Lamentations 3 talks about:
“It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord” (v.26).
“The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him” (v.25).
“Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love” (v.32).
She’s not striving anymore. She’s staying attentive.
And that attentiveness becomes a kind of hope with eyes open.
Ruth Stepped in Line
Ruth doesn’t just follow Naomi’s words—she follows her way of seeing.
She’s watched her mother-in-law long enough to know what hesed looks like up close.
So she obeys—not because she’s certain of the outcome—but because she trusts the God behind the plan.
She steps forward… into potential rejection, confusion, embarrassment.
She moves boldly—only to be told to stay still.
Which brings us here:
The Irony of the Wait
After all that movement and momentum—after all that boldness and barley—
Ruth is told:
“Wait, my daughter… until you find out what happens.”
(3:18)
Naomi adds, “Boaz will not rest until the matter is settled.”
Translation: “You can rest… because he won’t.”
(And somewhere in heaven, God is nodding.)
Because this moment isn’t just about Ruth and Boaz.
It’s about us, too.
Waiting Is Obedience, Too
We’re taught to hustle. To strive. To fix.
But sometimes, obedience looks like restraint.
Like not texting first.
Like not pushing the door open that God hasn’t unlocked yet.
Like trusting the Redeemer to do what only He can do.
Because the One behind this story?
He will not rest until the matter is settled.
🧵 Pause + Reflect
If you’re like me, you want to move.
Fix it. Finish it. Tie a bow on it and call it done.
But maybe the most obedient thing we can do today… is stay still.
Maybe the most faithful step is to not take one—at least, not until He moves.
So here’s a little invitation for us both:
🧴 Put down the sticky phone.
🎒 Stop obsessing over whether that was today’s sippy cup or last week’s science experiment.
🤯 Take a breath before spiraling through five possible outcomes and three backup plans.
Instead—
What if we asked God to help us notice like Naomi?
To stay in step like Ruth?
To wait with hands open, not clenched?
You don’t have to understand the whole story to trust the Author.
And you don’t have to hustle your way into redemption.
You just have to follow the thread—and wait for Him to weave it.
He’s working.
Even when all you see… is not all that is.
PS. Just for kicks and giggles … here are the “alternative titles” that ChatGPT helped me come up w/ for my talk on Ruth 3. Loved sharing these with our group and hope they make you laugh too!
