“Boaz replied, “I’ve been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband – how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before.” Ruth 2:11 (NIV)
“This is hard,” she thought as she gazed into her mother-in-law’s eyes.
She’s freeing me. I could go back to what I know.
I’ve known such sorrow; no one would blame me.
Others have done it…
No!
In the end, it would be a return to captivity, this decision to possibly abandon her mother-in-law, and her God.
Ruth shook her head. NO! There was once a time she didn’t know better, had not been taught as a child. But today she knew.
There was no turning her back on Naomi. There was no turning her back on her faith. There was no turning her back on her God. The road seemed unbearable, yet she refused to change direction.
God would help her, and she would help Naomi.
What made Ruth so obstinate?
Her list boiled down to two ideas:
First, it just wasn’t right to leave Naomi alone, no matter what.
Second, Ruth had found a truly fulfilling way of worship, a meaningful way of life. She had found the one, true, God.
She was not about to leave her faith now. After all her losses, she knew she would die without her God. She needed God to sustain her, without Him, she had nothing.
I don’t know what you’re facing right now. Life can play ultimate hardball sometimes. Ruth watched her mother-in-law lose her husband and then her two sons. Ruth knew the agonizing loss of her own husband.
On top of all that, Ruth and Naomi knew need. There was famine in the land and no food, and no one to provide.
Yet, Ruth persisted in her faith. She wasn’t about to abandon God now. She refused to relinquish her relationship with Naomi or with God.
Whatever mountains are staring you down, however much you want to throw in the towel, remember Ruth.
Having lost everything except her faith and knowing true need, Ruth continued doing what was right and acted on faith.
The result? Love, security and peace she never could have authored.
The power propelling Ruth was the power of her faith. When it got unbearably difficult, even near impossible, she trusted God to sustain her. We consider her remarkable, as Boaz did. Yet, I wonder if Ruth would point her finger at God as the remarkable one. If was God who provided for her needs, all her needs. The need for faith, the need for secure provision, the need for human love.
She ‘just’ leaned on Him. That is the power of a remarkable woman.
Reflections:
How do I persevere when living faithfully is difficult?
What have I wanted to quit but know that’s not the right choice?
Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, Thank You for the example of Ruth. She knew great sorrow and great need and yet refused to turn away from You. Please help me to live out a faith like that. Thank You for always loving, always interceding, and always carrying me through the difficult days. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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