Thursday Reading: Ruth 1:15-18
Key Verse: Ruth 1:16
16 And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:
Devotion:
If you had the choice as to whether you would put everything behind you and follow the will of someone else, what would you do? It may be easy to glibly say that if we were faced with a question like that that we would drop everything and follow the one that we loved – but when reality strikes, we tend to do something else! Many have fallen and given in to their feelings, wants, desires or even greed and have gone off in the other direction – and who are we to say otherwise to what others have done?
We do need to know when we have said one thing and done another. We do need to recognise when others have done the same. We do need to stand by the truth and make sure that we allow others to see that we will stand up to the truth. But, alas, many of us will continue to trip and fall just when the crunch comes. It is little wonder then that we have books like this in our bibles – to make sure that we recognise that good will come out of persistence. It can be difficult following the persistence of the prophets because of the amount of information we have to pick up to see their works, but a love story like this will give us more than just encouragement in God.
Ruth was a woman who said she would stick by her mother in law and that is exactly what she did. She made sure that she stood by Naomi throughout everything. She had an insight into just how special the love between a person and their God can be because she was willing to give up everything just to make sure that she could stay with Naomi and her God! She must have seen a tremendous love there that made her stop and think about how much God must actually mean to someone who trusts in Him. We may marvel at what she was strong enough to do, but I believe that her trusting in God gave her the strength that was required to love and support Naomi. It is that sort of love that I long for, and thankfully it is that love that I find in my Lord and Saviour. I marvel at His great love for me and all that He does for me even though I am weak and still give in…
Points to Ponder:
What does your love mean to you?
How much do you rely on God’s love?
