Beautifully Surrendered: God's Heart for His DaughtersSample

Read: Ruth 1:1–18

SOAP: Ruth 1:16

But Ruth replied,

“Stop urging me to abandon you!

For wherever you go, I will go.

Wherever you live, I will live.

Your people will become my people,

and your God will become my God.”

Into the text

Naomi could never have known how God would orchestrate redemption through her heartache and loss. God used Naomi’s hardest moments to continue His plans for His people. Had Elimelech lived, Naomi would never have needed to rely on her sons for protection and care. Had her sons lived, Naomi would never have needed to make plans to leave Moab and travel back to Bethlehem. Had Naomi never taken those first steps back toward her hometown, Ruth would never have met Boaz, an event that led to their family being in the lineage of Jesus.

Ruth loved Naomi deeply, and she possibly learned about God through her day-to-day interactions with Naomi. Despite all that was stacked against her, Naomi continued to believe in God in a foreign land. Naomi never lost her understanding of who God is, but she had seen so much heartache and pain that she stopped believing God would be good to her. Even in her pain, God did not stop caring for Naomi; He provided her with a daughter-in-law who left everything she knew to remain by her side.

When Naomi set out to return to Bethlehem, she intended to return to the town and family who could take care of her as a widow. Instead of turning back to her own family in Moab, Ruth chose to remain with Naomi and travel to a foreign land, live with a foreign people, and believe in a foreign God. Ruth put her faith in the God Naomi believed in, though she saw her mother-in-law’s faith struggle. Ruth’s decision made an impact on the whole town of Bethlehem. Her story traveled to a man named Boaz, who would hear about Ruth and honor her hard work and dedication with protection and provision.

Ruth had also faced tremendous loss. Ruth’s husband, father-in-law, and brother-in-law had all died, leaving her and the other women in the family to fend for themselves. While Naomi chose to believe God was working against her, Ruth chose to have faith. She chose to believe in the same God as her mother-in-law, even though He had made them walk through so much hardship.

We can follow Ruth’s example of trusting in God’s provision by clinging to Him even when those around us start to doubt. Ruth’s faith and willingness to support Naomi in her season of grief led to her relationship with Boaz and the child who would be the ancestor of the Messiah, the Savior of the world: Jesus Christ.