Redeemed Devotional – Day 10

Scripture:
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. ¹⁷ 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.”
Ruth 1:16-17We’ve talked about Naomi for quite a while now. Today, the spotlight shifts to a different character in the story, the one the book is named after. Ruth 1:16-17 is among the most beautiful and powerful declarations of loyalty in all of Scripture. Naomi has finally taken the first steps back home, but one more matter remains. She doesn’t want anyone to come with her. After all, Bethlehem isn’t her daughters-in-law home, and she is too old to provide another husband for them. In her mind, they are better off in Moab. But the Lord has other plans, as He often does with us.

Thankfully, the Lord has other plans. He is going to show Naomi the kind of love that He has. He will show her His Hesed, the never failing, never quitting, never letting go kind of steadfast love. So far, Naomi has been resisting His love. She even waits until she’s down the road a ways to appeal to her daughters-in-law to return home. She knew that if she did it too early, they could have convinced her to stay. But now that she’s on the journey, she won’t turn back. She prays for Orpah and Ruth, that the Lord will bless them with what she is unable to provide: She thinks she’s empty, but as we will see, she has no idea that God’s Hesed love is walking right beside her.

As you might expect, the goodbyes are filled with sorrow, tears, and heartbreak. These women have been part of Naomi’s life for years, and she knows she will never see them again. She has nothing to give them but her tears. Or so she thinks. And even as the tears come out, so does the hurt and the pain. In her mind, God has messed up her life. She hates the plan He has for it.

While Orpah leaves, Ruth clings to Naomi. This type of clinging is not a quick hug. It’s the kind of grasp that conveys lifetime loyalty and the abandoning of the past to remain permanently. Her choice truly shows how extraordinary Ruth’s love and commitment is. While Orpah does what we would consider sensible and expected, Ruth does what is extraordinary and unexpected. Ruth’s faith is bold and courageous, willing to abandon what seems most sensible and travel into unknown territory.  She abandons what she knows and what others no doubt would have told her to cling to, and instead clings to her aged, hopeless mother-in law. It’s hard to see a greater example of love and loyalty than what we see here.

That is, until we look at Christ. Some of you today know the feeling of abandonment and aloneness. You might not feel very worthy of love because of your past or choices you’ve made. You know what it’s like to struggle with the belief that no one truly cares for you or understands you. Life is hard and doesn’t get any easier. Some of you know the pain of relationships that didn’t last, promises that weren’t kept, or people who walked away. And in those moments, the enemy whispers, “You’re alone. You’re not worth staying for. No one will cling to you like that. Even God must be tired of you.”

But Ruth’s vow is God’s answer to those lies. Where others have walked away, Jesus has not. Where others have failed you, Jesus never will. Where others have let go, Jesus holds fast. It’s true that Ruth’s loyalty and love is one of the greatest examples that we see in the Bible. But even hers pales in comparison to the loyalty and love that Christ has for us. Just think of all the times where we are like Naomi. We aren’t loyal to the Lord. We believe that His hand isn’t for our best. We think others aren’t for us, and that we are all alone. We interpret our circumstances as proof that He has let go. We push Him away in our bitterness, confusion, or fear. And yet, amazingly, He clings to us still.

This is Hesed love. The love that stays when you push away. The love that holds when you fall apart and keeps you when you cannot keep yourself. The love that is stronger than your interpretation of your circumstances. Naomi thought God was against her, but He was actually working for her. Your feelings may tell you one story, but God’s covenant faithfulness tells you another.

Don’t forget that your story is part of a much bigger story than you can see. Naomi had no idea that her tears, her losses, her famine, her emptiness, and her return would lead to King David, and ultimately to Jesus. You don’t know what God is weaving through your pain either. But Ruth assures you that God is doing more in your story than you can imagine, even if you feel as if you have been abandoned, given up on, or left to fend for yourself. This chapter that you are in is part of a redemption far larger than you can see.

And this is why Jesus is better than your grip. He is the true and better Ruth, the One who binds Himself to you forever, the One who walks with you into the unknown, the One who vows, “I will never leave you nor forsake you,” and the One whose grip on you is stronger than your grip on Him.

Are you ready for His arms to grip you today?

Pastor Josh Gerber

1. Where in your life do you feel most alone, abandoned, or “let go,” like Naomi did on the road back to Bethlehem?
2. How does Ruth’s vow help you understand the nature of Jesus’ covenant love toward you?
3. What would it look like to trust that Jesus is holding onto you even when your feelings tell you otherwise?

• Hebrews 13:5 — “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

When you feel alone, remind yourself: Jesus clings to me.

• Isaiah 54:10 — “My steadfast love shall not depart from you.”

When you feel unworthy, remind yourself: His covenant love is stronger than my failures.

• John 10:28 — “No one will snatch them out of my hand.”

Let God’s promise become the anchor that steadies your soul, for He is the Redeemer who clings to you and never lets go.