“Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.” Ruth 1:1

There are only two books in the Bible that are named after women. God can use both of them to be a blessing to women today. Reading the Book of Ruth this morning and praying for the Lord to give me inspiration for this week’s devotions, the Lord impressed me that there were lessons that we could learn from this story. We are shown the grace and mercy of God, and how He can take something that looks like tragedy and turn it into a blessing.

God has a plan for each one of our lives. As we read this first verse of Ruth, we speculate as to whether Naomi had any choice in this move, or did her husband make the decision and she and the boys had to go along with it. Was moving to Moab a wrong choice for this family? It might look that way as we read further and realize the sorrow they faced. But now that we know the rest of the story, we realize that God had His hand upon them and that He used this experience to fulfill His plan.

We all make choices in life and those choices have a definite impact on our future. Naomi and her family left Bethlehem, and their friends and loved ones to live in a country where people did not know God. In the course of time, her husband and her sons died, and she was left with just her two daughters-in-law. She responded to her situation with bitterness, even going as far as to change her name, saying that the hand of the Lord was against her. Instead of being called, Naomi, which means pleasant or lovely, she wanted to be called Mara or bitter.

When we face sorrow, disappointment, or hardships in our life, the enemy would like to turn our thoughts away from the Lord and cause us to live in bitterness and defeat. If you are reading this today, and you have made choices that have taken you away from a deep experience with the Lord, it’s not too late to make a change.

Thankfully, Naomi knew there was a better way and in tomorrow’s posting, we will talk more about that.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, help us to make the right decisions in life. Help us to rise above the things that would cause us to doubt you, and to look to you for strength and guidance in every area of our life.

Devotion by Anne Johnston

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3 Comments

  1. Janis Freeman

    I have thoroughly enjoyed these devotions. So much to learn.

    • Anne Johnston

      Thank you Janis I am glad you are enjoying them.