This book is a must read for women who are in the middle of challenging times. I have read the book of Ruth quite a few times, but I had never approached it from the perspective of a young woman emerging from great loss, isolation, and the unknown.

Sarah Jakes offers practical insight about the possible thoughts of Ruth, the unseen challenges she may have encountered, her faithfulness to Naomi, integrity, and God.

Although this book has not been referred to as a devotional, it is the perfect 30-day devotional for someone who is working through difficult times. With each of the 30 short chapters, Jakes focuses on several verses in Ruth, illustrates the verses with everyday examples, provides thought-provoking questions for the reader to journal about, and ends with a prayer.

Jakes shares her personal collisions with destiny and the guilt she felt over a failed marriage and past mistakes. The book of Ruth provided hope as Jakes walked with this young widow from the land she knew to the land of the Israelites. From following the women in the fields and picking up leftover bits of grain to finding favor in the eyes of the field’s owner, Boaz, Ruth did not give up. Jakes urges the reader to persevere and wait upon the Lord to work.

When you collide with destiny as Ruth did, you will discover a beautiful point of intersection between the longings of your heart, your experience, and gifting, and the opportunities God opens before you.

A beautiful story about the redemption of the church unfolded before my eyes as a picture of the Christian walk through the challenges of life, through the loss of a loved one, loss of job, loss of health, loss of spouse, or loss of possessions.

So often we remember Ruth with Boaz and her ultimate blessing, not with her struggle. This outcome gives me comfort. It means when all is said and done, my legacy will not be what broke me but how God blessed me. Only those who care to see my scars will understand that the blessing did not come without wounds and that I did all I could to survive.

There is hope, and your story is a legacy.

What is your legacy?

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher, Bethany House Publishers, a division of Baker Publishing Group, in exchange for my honest review.

My prayer

Our Legacy-Maker, thank You for Sarah Jakes and her compelling look at the book of Ruth. Father, enable us to see You at work in our lives, transforming the hurts, the bruises, the scars of our lives into beautiful legacies that touch other lives with the beauty that only You can create. Thank You for being the Great Artist in our lives.