Devotional - Wednesday, August 18th

Ruth 1: 16-17



When I began to think about writing this devotion, I turned to Eugene Peterson’s, The Message, to read his introduction to the book of Ruth. Following is my summary of his thoughts, which I wanted to share with you as a part of my devotion. This book of Ruth, a story about two widows and a farmer, is found in the Bible between the historic beginning of the Hebrew people with some well known stars – Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and Moses and the subsequent stories of spiritual formation starring characters such as Hannah, Samuel, David, Saul and Solomon. In the middle of these great fathers and mothers of the faith comes Ruth. She seems to be an unimpressive and unimportant character. She was a foreigner, not born into the faith, a poor, powerless widow. How could Ruth have any place in God’s story? As we read to the end of the book of Ruth, we discover that she is absolutely crucial for God’s story of redemption and salvation to be complete, for Ruth was the great-grandmother of David and a foremother of Jesus. How often do we feel that our lives are inconsequential, that we are only ordinary people who have little significance? Regardless of what we feel, each of us is “irreplaceable in the full telling of God’s story. We count – every last one of us – and what we do counts.” (The Message, p. 449).


What made Ruth significant? What made her life count? The two verses, Ruth 1: 16-17, provide an excellent glimpse into the character of Ruth and I believe answer those questions.


Don’t urge me to leave you or turn back from you.
You have something that I want – a faith for myself.
Where you go, I will go.
I will follow you to a place and a land I know nothing about. I will have hope.
Where you stay, I will stay.
I will be committed and live with you and your people who may even be hostile to me, a foreigner.
Your people will be my people.
I will become one of your people, observing the laws of your God.
Your God will be my God.
I will worship your God in spirit and in truth.
Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried.
I will be faithful, love you and stay with you until the end.

What made Ruth irreplaceable in God’s story? She became a woman of faith. She pursued the faith of Naomi and made it her own. She lived in relationship with God, following his ways, observing his laws. She had hope despite her circumstances. She lived out a life of love and commitment.

Commitment, Faith, Hope, Love.




Heavenly Father, Help us to live lives of commitment, faith, hope and love. We may never know the impact that we will have on the people around us. Despite that, use us and what we do, imperfect as we are, in your unfolding story of redemption and salvation. Amen.


Lynn Martin