The situation in the land of Judah
was one of hardship and a battle against climate. “Normally, the land was
fertile enough to sustain fields of wheat and barley, grape vineyards and
groves of olive and fig trees. But occasionally the rains failed, the crops
withered and there was famine.” (Old Testament Student Manual) This is the land
where the Book of Ruth takes place and where we see the story of an incredible
strong woman named Ruth unfold. We can learn from her great example how to
remain strong and unmovable no matter what situation we are in.
Ruth faced many trials in her life,
but she was a good example of how to remain strong and true during times of
adversity. We learn in Ruth 1 that Ruth loses her husband as well as her
father-in-law and brother-in-law. She is faced with a big decision about
whether to stay with her mother-in-law Naomi or return to her home land. Naomi
presses her to return to her own family and not worry about her. Ruth though showed
how selfless she was by deciding to stay with Naomi to make sure that she was
taken care of.
I can imagine that Ruth struggled
with the decision. She probably had family that she hadn’t see in a while that
she could return home to. She also had no real tie to Naomi since she was her
mother-in-law of her husband who was no longer alive. I imagined she stayed though because she felt
that she needed to stay. In the Old Testament Student Manual it talks about Ruth
growing up in a different religion than Naomi, but she “was converted to the
true God of Israel.” This feeling of devotion of the God of Israel probably
allowed Ruth to feel a sense of devotion to his will for her which was for her
to stay with Naomi.
Boaz I think was so impressed with
Ruth because of the devotion she had for the Lord and for Naomi. Because of
this, and his own love and devotion to the Lord, he was kind to Ruth. He knew
of the sacrifice that she had made for Naomi and he wanted to give back to her.
We see by this example that by making sacrifices for others brings blessing
from the Lord.
I have never had make as hard of
decision as Ruth in my own life, but I do have one that is of a similar nature.
When we were considering whether we should move to Connecticut for a good job
opportunity we really struggled with the idea of leaving our family behind and
being so far away. We felt that this opportunity was good for us and that this
is what the Lord wanted us to do. Even though we deeply wanted to be with
family, we knew that we needed to do what the Lord wanted us to do. After being
here in Connecticut for a year and half, we now see the many blessings that
have come from following the Lord. Everything has fallen into place for us and
we know that it is because of the Lord. Looking back now, I know that
sacrificing what we wanted for what we needed to do has been a blessing in our
lives.
From this experience and from the
example of Ruth, I have learned that we have challenges in our lives for a
reason. Sometimes we don’t know the reason why or the outcome of those
challenges, but we must be willing to put our trust in the Lord because he
knows what is best for us. I know that every time I have done that in my own
life, I will look back and see the blessings and reasons for that challenge.
Let us all follow the Lord and try better at facing challenges head on with
faith that they will make us stronger and bless our lives for the better.
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