Key scripture- “But Ruth replied, ‘Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God’” (Ruth 1:16)

Have you ever gone through a shattered season of life? Where it was so bad that each way you turned it seemed like life was falling apart, and you felt hopeless and broken for a long time.

What is so powerful about God’s Word is it teaches us that even in the midst of tragedy, God is faithful, and the book of Ruth is a powerful example of this.��The first few verses of the book of Ruth introduce us to an Israelite family: Elimelek, Naomi and their two sons, Mahlon and Kilion. They were living in Bethlehem, the same place where Jesus would be born about one thousand years later. Because of a famine, Elimelek made the decision to move his family to a place called Moab, where there was food and work. (Ruth 1:1-2). However, Moab was a dangerous place for an Israelite family because of the Moabites.

The Israelites worshiped God – Jehovah. But the Moabites worshiped a god named Chemosh. This false god represented some horrific things. These two religions were like oil and water, not very mixable. In Ruth 1:1 it says Elimelek went to live in the country of Moab. In Hebrew, the word “live” means a sojourn or temporary stay, because Elimelek had no intentions of Moab becoming a permanent home. But what he didn’t know was that this temporary stay would soon become a place of permanent pain.

In the course of time, the two sons married Moabite women named Orpah and Ruth, and not long after, tragedy unfolds. First Elimelek died, then Mahlon and Killion died, leaving three widows and no children. (Ruth 1:3; Ruth 1:5) This widowed and childless scenario left these three women, Naomi, Orpah and Ruth, in a place of near hopelessness. A shattered season? Definitely. But tragedy doesn’t exempt us from the need to make decisions. And so, three decisions were made.

The first decision: Naomi
She made a decision to go back to the one place where she had any ounce of hope left, Bethlehem. (Ruth 1:6) Naomi begged the girls to not go with her. In fact, she practically demanded they return to their families and their god.

The second decision: Orpah
She made a decision to obey Naomi’s request and flee to what was familiar, her family and her god. (Ruth 1:14). We never heard of Oprah again.

The third decision: Ruth
She made the decision to stay with Naomi. (Ruth 1:16-18). I always wondered what would cause Ruth to do the opposite of Orpah and decide to stay with Naomi. But in Ruth 1:16, when Ruth says, “Your God will be my God …” we see a little insight behind Ruth’s decision to stay. When Ruth committed to return to Bethlehem with Naomi, there was no promise of stability or a good future. Ruth had no idea what was ahead; she just made the decision to stay — stay with Naomi and stay with God, no matter what. As a result of her decision, Ruth ends up being in Jesus’ family lineage.

What if we offered God this same type of commitment? That we’ll stay with Him when it’s good. We’ll stay with Him when it’s hard. We’ll stay with Him when it’s easy. And we’ll stay with Him when it’s complicated.

I have walked through a shattered season, and it was painful. Like Ruth, I never knew what was ahead, but one thing I did know is that I needed God, and by staying with God He showed me a dozen examples of His faithfulness as He gave me small signs of hope that He would never leave me (and He didn’t) and would get me through this (and He did).

As you make the decision to stay with God, you will see His faithfulness too. May you never ever give in to the temptation to give up on God. But instead, stay with Him and stand firm because He will never ever leave you.

Prayer: Our Precious Heavenly Father, thank You that You always see me through shattered seasons. I want to always stay with You because You are always there with me, You never forsake or abandon me. Even when it’s hard, messy or complicated, give me the wisdom and strength to lean into You. You are, Yahweh Nisi – The Lord our Banner. As I think about the battles that I am facing in my life, instead of looking for help from the people around me, I will look up and remember, God is my banner. While I am in the trenches, going toe to toe in the battle, I can turn and look up and be reminded that God, Himself, is my banner. The Lord Himself, is over me and nothing is better than that. No matter what my uncertainties are, no matter what I am facing, no matter what I am perplexed about with regard to the future, I need to remember, the Lord is my Banner, He is over me. All that I need, all that I long for, all that I seek to see in my life, God is the one Who is over my life and He is ensuring me that He will provide things in my life for His glory. He is my victory, I will not be destroyed. Father, it is so comforting to know that You are over me, watching out for me, that You will supply what I need no matter where I am, and You are there protecting me. Let it be done for Your glory. In Jesus’ Name, I pray, Amen.