Stop Waiting and Do the Next Right Thing
Most of us know what we need to do.
We just keep telling ourselves the timing isn’t right. We’re waiting for more clarity, more margin, more certainty, or maybe a sign from God that never comes. Meanwhile, the decision sits there, and nothing moves. If that’s where you are right now, the fourth chapter of Ruth has something for you.
You can listen to this message on the Lead Biblically Podcast or watch it on the Lead Biblically YouTube channel.
Why Doing the Next Right Thing Starts With Honesty
Here’s the truth: most of us aren’t waiting on God. We’re scared…scared to commit or to get it wrong. So we dress up hesitation and call it patience, and we tell ourselves it’s the spiritual thing to do. But patience and hesitation aren’t the same thing. One is rooted in faith and the other is rooted in fear.
In Ruth 4:1, we watch Boaz get up the morning after he met with Ruth on the threshing floor and go straight to the city gate. No delay, no second-guessing, no waiting for a better moment. The decision had already been made in his character. The morning just required him to act on it.
He called a meeting, structured a legal transaction, and committed publicly in front of ten Elders as witnesses. That’s what doing the next right thing looks like. It’s not dramatic, but faithful.
The Man Who Made the Reasonable Choice
There’s another man in this story worth paying attention to. The closer kinsman-redeemer, the one who had first right of redemption, was given the opportunity before Boaz. He initially agreed.
Then Boaz added the detail that the land came with Ruth, the Moabite widow. If he married her and she had a son, that son would inherit the land under Mahlon’s name. Economically, it made no sense, so he backed out.
His logic was completely reasonable by any worldly standard. He wasn’t a villain. He was just a man who couldn’t see past his own balance sheet. And the author of Ruth keeps his name out of the record.
The Hebrew text uses a placeholder idiom, the equivalent of “so-and-so” or “what’s-his-name.” His namelessness is the author’s verdict on his choice. He protected his legacy and lost it anyway. Boaz, by contrast, shows care for Ruth, not for his inheritance.
Doing the Next Right Thing Points to Jesus
Boaz’s faithfulness is remarkable, but it’s pointing us somewhere. The role of kinsman-redeemer required three things:
- The redeemer had to be a close relative.
- He had to be willing.
- He had to pay the price himself.
The closer redeemer met the first two requirements but failed to meet the third. Boaz met all three willingly. This points us to a greater Redeemer in this story that neither of them knew about.
The night before the cross, Jesus prayed in the garden.
Matthew 26:39 records him saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”
He knew the great cost. But he committed and walked the line anyway…for us. God raised him from the dead on the third day, and through that redemption, so people like us (outsiders and enemies of a holy God) could be brought into his family forever.
What Doing the Next Right Thing Looks Like for You
So here’s three practical steps:
- Before you close this page, pull out your phone or grab a journal.
- Name the decision you’ve been avoiding. Write it down.
- Then identify one concrete step you can take in the next 24 hours. Not the whole plan.
Just the next right thing. A phone call. An email. A conversation you’ve been putting off. Something that requires faith today and follow-through tomorrow.
God isn’t asking you to be reckless, but faithful. He’s far more concerned with your heart condition within the decision than the outcome of it. And if he’s walking with you, the outcome is already in good hands.
Stop waiting for a sign or the perfect moment. Commit and walk the line.
Join the Conversation: Answer This Question
- What decision have you been avoiding?
- What would it look like for you to take one step toward it in the next 24 hours?
