Thursday 25 October, 2018

15 “Look,” said Naomi, “your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her.” 16 But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. 17 Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.” 18 When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her. 19 So the two women went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them, and the women exclaimed, “Can this be Naomi?” 20 “Don’t call me Naomi,” she told them. “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. 21 I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The Lord has afflicted[d] me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me.” 22 So Naomi returned from Moab accompanied by Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law, arriving in Bethlehem as the barley harvest was beginning.

I am always struck by Ruth’s complete dedication to Naomi. The complete dedication she shows to her mother-in-law and her God. Surely it would have been tempting (and easier) to go back to what she had known. But Ruth shows such resolution to stay with Naomi. The choice she made cannot have been easy but it placed Ruth in a position where God could bless her in ways she could not have imagined.

I think there are times in all our lives when we have to be brave – make determined choices and ‘stick to our guns’. Ruth did the right thing. This was a big decision but there are decisions big and small every day that we face. I hope my choices show the same resolution to do the right thing as Ruth showed. I don’t know about you but I want to be positioned so I can do and receive all that God has for me.

Heavenly Father help me to be courageous in my choices. Help me to choose wisely every day and bring Glory to you. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

Written by Christine Knight