From Bethlehem to Moab, and Back Again: 5 Day Bible PlanSample

Day 1

Ruth 1:1 In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. So, a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab. 

In my twenties, I had surgery that left me struggling to walk. The hospital loaned me a wheelchair. It was uncomfortable – both for rider and for pusher – but it was only temporary. I wouldn’t need it for long. I’d soon be back on my feet. Except I wasn’t. I still sometimes need a wheelchair today, 20 years later. Temporary was more permanent than I thought.

At the beginning of the book of Ruth, we read that a man called Elimelek went to live in a place called Moab ‘for a while'. A couple of verses later, we read that Elimelek died there.

He died in a place he’d only intended to be in ‘for a while’.

Mark 14:38 Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Reflect: Is there anything in your life that could be drawing you away from God?

Prayer: Father God, help me be aware of things that sneak in and get in the way of my relationship with You. Amen