Ruth 1:16 “Don’t ask me to leave you and turn back. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God…”
I love travelling. The thrill of finding and exploring a new destination ranks right up there with one of my favourite things to do. Although the destination is always important – and as a South African we are spoilt for choice with beautiful places to visit – your travel companion is just as important. This can certainly make or break your trip.
When we meet Ruth – a lowly widow from Moab – she is about to make an interesting travel arrangement. It soon becomes clear that this will also be a one-way ticket with no option of returning. But over and above the difficult and perilous journey she chooses to embark on, she also swears her allegiance to her travel companion – her widowed mother-in-law. From the outset, it looks like this trip is doomed to failure.
As she clings in desperation to Naomi, her loyalty and devotion to the older woman becomes the compass by which she charts her future. Little does she know that this decision made at a crossroad in her life, will have a profound impact not only on herself and Naomi, but also on the lineage of the God of the Universe and all generations to come.
The one decision she takes to follow the path of her destitute mother-in-law, where-ever that might lead, sets her and generations to come, on the road to God’s provision, favour, and abundant blessings. Yet she is the one with the choice. And it’s not an easy choice to make and certainly not the most convenient one. The path she intends to take is unchartered and uncomfortable territory, but she commits her life and her desires into the older woman’s hands in good faith, and in so doing submits to her and her authority.
I wonder what crossroad you may be facing at the moment? I wonder if you have perhaps taken the time lately to evaluate the path you might find yourself on currently. How did you get there and where is it leading? Who have you chosen to embark with you on the journey? Who have you left or met along the way and have you committed to follow any One person as you journey on?
Sometimes we need to stop and ask God to remind us where we’ve been and to whisper to our hearts the way we should be going. Our next step might impact our future and generations to come dramatically, just like it did for Ruth. Who we decide to follow can make or break our future and our destiny.
Ruth was a nobody with no future, no inheritance, and very little options. But the one thing she did have was her loyalty and integrity. So she made the hard choice and chose to follow Naomi and commit to her ways, knowing full well that they might not even survive the journey alone as two widows to Bethlehem.
This courageous act of loyalty and faith led to her redemption and provision and she became the great grandmother of David, her story recorded for all generations to come.
You and I don’t know where exactly our next steps will lead us, just like Ruth must have had no idea. But may I encourage you to make all your decisions based on your loyalty and submission to Jesus, and to be obedient to Him just like Ruth meticulously followed every instruction Naomi gave her. Our faith in Him will be rewarded even if we can’t see the details of the road ahead. As you commit to His leading, however perilous the road may look, trust that He will turn your mourning to dancing just as He miraculously provided for Ruth and Naomi.
The Faithfulness of God 