Where do we go from here?
- Be The Ram Media
- Aug 20, 2022
- 2 min read
Uncomfortable circumstances call for uncomfortable decisions to be made.
Naomi hears that things have gotten better in Bethlehem where she’s originally from and decides there’s nothing left in Moab & she’s going back.
Decision #1 Do I leave the place I’m in for the place I was? (Ruth 1:6) What do I do when where I was starts looking better than where I’m at?
Naomi’s daughter in laws decided they were leaving as well. They were Moabites but wanted to follow Naomi back to Bethlehem.
Naomi then tells her daughter in law that they both needed to go back with their mother not her. (8) She thanked them for how kind they had been to her and her sons. She kisses them and they all began to cry.
Decision #2 Do I love in the space I am past the place I am? When I’m not obligated to love you anymore will I? (9-10)
Naomi couldn’t have been in a good space. She has lost three men that she loved and now these two women would be constant reminders of what she lost. There was a major transition between verse 9 and 10. This is when the walls were torn down. A lot of us have our walls built up all around us.
In verse 9 Ruth & Oprah were referred to as Naomi’s daughter in laws. In verse 10 the law was overshadowed by the love she had for them & they then were called “daughters”
Decision #3 Do I blame God or do I believe God? (13b)
Naomi felt as though the Lord had done things to her. In the KJV it translates as the Lord has gone out against me.
When you are in an uncomfortable situation you have the option to blame God for everything that’s happening or you can believe in Romans 8:28 that says all things work together for the good of them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose.
We have a tendency to look at what has happened in our lives & blame God. We look completely past the things God has blessed us with because the pain we feel.
Decision #4 Do I Release or Embrace? (14)
At this point Oprah made a decision to exercise her right to leave. There’s nothing wrong with her making this decision. She was not obligated to stay.
Notice that in this verse when speaking in reference to Oprah, Naomi was once again called “Mother-in-law”.
Ruth made the decision to embrace the new life she would live with Naomi.
Uncomfortable circumstances call for uncomfortable decisions to be made.
Decision #1 Do I leave the place I’m in for the place I was? (Ruth 1:6) What do I do when where I was starts looking better than where I’m at?
Decision #2 Do I love in the space I am past the place I am? When I’m not obligated to love you anymore will I? (Ruth 1:9-10)
Decision #3 Do I blame God or do I believe God? (Ruth 1:13b)
Decision #4 Do I Release or Embrace? (Ruth 1:14)