Faith... Freedom... Courage...

"Here we have a picture of God's ideal woman...Faith in God that sees beyond present bitter setbacks. Freedom from the securities and comforts of the world. Courage to venture into the unknown and the strange. Radical commitment in the relationships appointed by God....This is the woman of Proverbs 31:25 who looks into the future with confidence in God and laughs at the coming troubles: "Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come." Ruth is one of "the holy women who hoped in God...[and did] not fear anything that is frightening" (1 Peter 3:5-6). It is a beautiful thing to watch a woman like this serve Christ with courage….Whatever else the great women of faith doubted, they never doubted that God governed every part of their lives and that nothing could stay his hand...Nothing--from toothpdicks to tyrants--is ultimately self-determining. Everything serves (willingly or not) the "purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will" (Eph. 1:11). God is the all-encompassing, all-pervading, all-governing reality."
--John Piper, A Sweet and Bitter Providence, p. 35, 44
(via girltalk, 19 July 2010)

(art credit- Ruth Gleaning by Marc Chagall)