When Faith is All That's Left: What Ruth and Esther Taught Me About Surviving The Dark

Have you ever looked around your life and wondered how you managed to survive the darkness surrounding you? Or the darkness that sets within you when you experience traumatic events? I seem to always wonder how God saves me from my own self, let alone what happens around me. Operating on absolute zero always leaves me in ah of God. He is always coming to my rescue even in my lack of faith and doubt that appears in all areas of my life. No backup plan. No safety net. Just a tiny, fragile spark of faith that refuses to go out. Lately, this is exactly where I've been. When you reach the end of your own strength, the stories in the bible stop being the old boring Sunday school bible stories. They become survival guides. For me, two women have completely jumped off the pages recently: Ruth and Esther. 

On the surface, their lives look totally opposite. Ruth was a broke foreigner sweeping up scraps in a field. Esther was a literal queen living in a palace. But when you look at their hearts, they are walking the same exact road. And it's a similar road many of us are on right now. 

Here is what I have learned from them surviving on faith alone:

1. Faith Means Stepping Out Into the Unknown - Ruth lost her husband, her home, and her security. When she chose to follow Naomi to a strange land, she didn't have a blueprint. She just went. The takeaway: Faith doesn't mean having the answers. It means moving forward even when you can't see the staircase. 
2. Faith Requires "Even If" Courage - Esther had to risk her life to save her people. Her famous words, "If I perish, I perish.", weren't spoken because she felt safe. She was terrified, but she acted anyway. The takeaway: Real faith doesn't guarantee a happy ending. It's choosing to do the right thing even if everything goes wrong. 
3. God Works in the Silence - Neither Ruth or Esther saw burning bushes or heard booming voices from the sky. I didn't even see God's name appear once in the book of Esther. Yet, God's fingerprints were all over both stories, orchestrating every single "coincidence." The takeaway: Just because you don't hear God doesn't mean He isn't working. Silence isn't absence. I also sense he speaks to us, but in times of chaos all we hear is our own thoughts trying to navigate us away from what He called us to do, similar to Jonah's attributes. 

To Anyone Else Holding On By a Thread

If you are reading this and you feel empty, please know you are in good company. Ruth's empty hands eventually held a new future. Esther's terrifying moment saved a nation. When faith is all you have left, it turns out you have exactly enough. Keep up the good work and keep stepping forward.