THE DECISION TO TRUST

Ruth 1:1-22

Wednesday, 24 September 2025

“Entreat me not to leave you…Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.” -Ruth 1:16

The Book of Ruth, though a small book in the Old Testament has great significance for us today. Ruth, a Gentile who made the crucial decision to acknowledge and follow the living God paved the way for her to be in the lineage of Christ who became the Redeemer for all humankind. 

Our reflection today from our reading of Ruth 1, we will focus on 2 women- Naomi the Israelite woman and her Gentile daughter-in-law, Ruth. Let us look into their two different attitudes and draw our lessons from them.

➢ Dejected Naomi vs Confident Ruth

Naomi having had great losses in life was dejected- and rightly so—she lost her husband and two sons and her dignity in society! She was widowed in this foreign land, where her husband had come when famine had hit their native place. When she heard the Lord had visited His people, she decided to return. Her words, “the hand of the Lord has gone against me” (v.13) shows her sorry state and an attitude of resigning to her fate.

See in contrast Ruth, the loyal daughter-in-law who had no hesitation in setting out with her mother-in-law and “clung” to her even when she had the better option of returning to her own people and making better fortunes! Here was a girl, in the prime of her youth willing and confident to stick to her widowed mother-in-law no matter what the future held for her!

Loyalty is the character that shines forth in Ruth. When in our generation, marriages, parental/in-law relationships are thrown to the winds for silly reasons, Ruth’s loyalty is an example to follow. Loyalty was exemplified in Jesus, when He laid down His life for you and me [“Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.” -John 15:13]. Jesus laying down His life, redeemed you and me from the clutches of Satan.

➢ Skeptical Naomi vs Hopeful Ruth

Life had turned Naomi bitter and its portrayed in her words, “…call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.” (v.20). She was still complaining and unable to trust that God could fill her emptiness.

Ruth on the other hand was hopeful, displaying trust in the God who she had embraced (leaving her pagan roots) and her mother-in-law who was taking her to an unknown land. We see her words of strong faith in the key verse: “Entreat me not to leave you…Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.” (v.16)

Ruth was the possessor of strong faith- as described in Hebrews 11:6: “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”

Looking at the lives of Ruth and Naomi, we can choose our attitudes- we can choose to be loyal and hopeful rather than dejected and skeptical in the tough situations we go through in life. Our attitude makes a big difference. Ruth chose to trust God into the unknown future and she was rewarded with a new life with Boaz – what more- her name came to be recorded in the lineage of Jesus Christ! 

May the Lord enable each of us like Ruth to trust GOD entirely with our lives and watch Him work His plan in our lives!

Think on: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” -Hebrews 11:1

Listen: 'I will trust in YOU'