Women of the Bible: Ruth

Ruth 1:16-17:

But Ruth said, "Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the Lord do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you."

I have always loved the story of Ruth. It is a touching tale of the powerful friendship that occurs between two women. As a midwife, I am obviously a huge believer in the value of women supporting one another. More importantly though, it is a testament to the change that happens when we decide to follow God.

In the book of Judges, which precedes the book of Ruth, we learn that the Israelites have gone off the rails without Moses and Joshua to lead them. God had warned them of the consequences of turning away from Him, and famine was the result. Naomi and her husband and two sons are faced with starvation in the region of Judah and they decide to flee to Moab. The Moabites and the Israelites were essentially enemies, with God even commanding the Israelites to not “seek their peace or prosperity,” and banning the Moabites from temple worship for ten generations. This context shows us the dire situation that Naomi’s family was in to decide to flee to Moab. It would have been humiliating for them to seek refuge among the Moabites.

Sometime after they arrive in Moab, Naomi’s husband dies and her two sons take Moabite wives- Orpah and Ruth. Things go from bad to worse when both of Naomi’s sons die as well, leaving the women destitute. I find it interesting the parallels between Job and Naomi. Job suffered immensely, and yet since he was a man of means (and just a man), it would be impossible for him to be as low as Naomi was in this moment. She was a widow with no living male relatives in a foreign, hostile territory.

Naomi hears that the famine in Israel has ended and decides to return to live among her own people. She instructs her daughters-in-law to return to their families. Orpah obeys, but Ruth makes her allegiance clear when she declares, “where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.”

This was an absolutely radical, bold statement. Moab was a pagan nation, an enemy of Israel. Still, Ruth chose to turn from her own culture and family, follow Naomi into Israel, and worship the one true God.

To briefly summarize the rest of the story, Ruth finds favor with and marries Boaz. They have a son and Naomi has an heir. Ruth’s dedication to her mother-in-law lifts her out of despair and poverty. She proves herself, “more than seven sons.” But, here’s the really remarkable part of this story: Ruth had other options, easier options, and yet she CHOSE to follow Yahweh and make future for not only herself, but her mother-in-law too.

Ruth sets an example of the change that occurs in us when we choose to follow God. God calls us to trust, obey, love, and follow Him. May we be like Ruth and follow Him boldly and willingly into whatever He has called us to.

Isaiah 43:18-19

As the years go by, my desire to be a devoted servant of the Lord is constantly increasing. My thoughts are often on Him and what He would have me do next. I try to be maintain a near-constant state of prayer in the hopes that He will continue to renew and refine me. I find myself truly desiring more of God. His word, His plan, His way.

Despite that, I am often plagued by the same question: “Why me?”

It is the question I have been asking myself a lot lately. I have wrestled with this calling: the call to midwifery and the call to the mission field. I wonder all the time why God placed this longing in my heart. I have tried to run from it, to shove it down and make it go away but it is always there.

I feel like the last person on earth who belongs on the mission field. I’m so… messed up. That sounds cliche, but it’s true. I have been through some stuff and I’m STILL going through some stuff! I don’t understand how God can not only redeem my past, but also to imagine Him using my present? And to trust Him with my future? This is turning out to be a lot more complicated than I expected it to be when it first crossed my mind to become a midwife in 2019.

As I was reading my Bible today I was reminded that God is still doing the work of redemption!

Isaiah 43:18- 19 says: “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”

This was exactly the reminder I needed. Not only will He redeem us, but He will make a way forward. I know the path ahead is difficult and I can’t make sense of how I will run this race, but I trust the Lord to renew me daily and provide me with what I need to see His plan to fruition.

If you are someone struggling to reconcile your past self with your calling, I pray you are encouraged by this reminder: God is doing something new! Rejoice!

Lord, may You grant us the wisdom to find the path that you have paved for us and the strength to travel down it in Your image.