Trusting God
Kay Patterson

Scripture:

“The women said to Naomi: ‘Praise be to the Lord, who this day has not left you without a guardian-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel! He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth.’” Ruth 4:14–15

Devotional:

Time and time again, God shows us that he is not done with us. No matter what circumstances we find ourselves in at any moment, God is there. This is true even when things seem so sad, maddening, or uncertain that it’s hard to feel God’s presence. I love the story of Ruth because it makes this point so clear.

Ruth had lost her husband, and then she gave up her homeland in order to remain loyal to and protective of her mother-in-law, Naomi, in moving back to Bethlehem. The Bible doesn’t tell us what Ruth was feeling or what prayers she might have raised. We see through her actions that she is kind, humble, patient, loving, hard-working, protective, and faithful. She meets Boaz while gleaning for food, and we see the same qualities in him. They get married and have a son, Obed. As a Moabite, Ruth probably never envisioned herself as an important part of God’s story, much less an ancestor of the future Savior, as we find out at the very end of Chapter 4. But God had big plans for her!

Soren Kierkegaard wrote in 1843, “Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.” While there is truth to that, I believe we can find daily purpose and inspiration by knowing that God is with us and has plans for us, as well as by being rooted in our faith internally and manifesting our faith to those around us through our actions, as Ruth did. In the face of excruciating loss and uncertainty, she continued to live life, taking care of Naomi and adopting Naomi’s God. Ruth is a great role model for remaining faithful and taking each right, faithful next step without knowing when or how things will get better, yet always trusting in God.

Prayer: 

Loving and redeeming God, thank you for the plans you have in store for us and for offering refuge under your wings. Please help us to remember to seek your refuge always, and especially during the storms in our lives. Please strengthen us and guide us to take action to support and protect others in their times of need so that they will know You are always with us.