“There was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons… These took Moabite wives,.. Orpah and… Ruth. They lived there about ten years, and both Mahlon and Chilion died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband…
“So she set out… with her two daughters-in-law… to return to the land of Judah. But Naomi said.., ‘Go, return each of you to her mother’s house. May the Lord deal kindly with you… [and] grant that you may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband!’ Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept. And they said to her, ‘No, we will return with you to your people.’ But Naomi said, ‘Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? Turn back, my daughters;.. I am too old to have a husband… Even if I should bear sons, would you wait till they were grown?.. No, my daughters…’ Then they lifted up their voices and wept again. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.
“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.’” Ruth 1:1,4-5,7-17
Intrigue in a foreigner, love in marriage, grief in death, sorrow in parting, fear in leaving, expectancy in change, compassion and tenacity in commitment. Years pulled and stretched the varied emotions of young Ruth up and down and around, and the thread of faith held her together. Only the resolve of a captured heart could determine passage and connection with a God not previously known. Faith tethered to this Holy One instilled eagerness in industry and confidence in favor expressed in humble service and gratitude. (Ruth 2:2-13)
Emotions lure, persuade, and captivate. They can unsettle, confuse, and deceive. They often arrest forward progress and detract from a goal or calling. But they are a gift from God to enhance, not disrupt, our devotion to Him. What we perceive as crises or instigators of upsetting change or devastation are no surprise to our Heavenly Father. Rather they are vehicles whereby faith is tested and His love and power are revealed.
How yielded are our emotions to the Sovereign? Are we easily moved and thrown off course by circumstances, or does constant trust tie reactions and feelings together in increasing steadiness? What can we do to harness volatile and enemy emotions into friends, spurring us on? How might God transform mood swings, fears, sorrows into fuel for flourishing faith in His steady and steadfast love? And how might this transformation bring blessing and hope to others? (Ruth 4:13-14; Ephesians 4:14; 2 Timothy 1:7; Hebrews 10:24)
Lord, weave Your strong thread of faith through my every action and emotion, that I will go and stay with and adore You always.
As the rain and snow 