Kristi Burchfiel

Has life’s circumstances changed you? It certainly had changed Naomi. She had been gone for over 10 years and yet when she returned, everyone knew her and was shocked by the changes they saw. See Ruth 1:19. So they both went until they came to Bethlehem. And when they had come to Bethlehem, all the city was stirred because of them, and the women said, “Is this Naomi?” Ruth 1:19 NASB https://bible.com/bible/100/rut.1.19.NASB This must have been an amazing change that was visible in Naomi. The people knew who she was, but were shocked at how she had been changed by her situation. Have we allowed life to change us? Or…

Pick your battles. That advice has been given to many people throughout the business and personal world. Not every battle is worth fighting, sometimes you need to wait and make sure that you’re fighting the battles that you really need win. Naomi made that choice when Ruth explained that she was absolutely going to follow Naomi. Read Ruth 1:16-18 When she saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more to her. Ruth 1:18 NASB https://bible.com/bible/100/rut.1.18.NASB With was determined. She made her choice and nothing and no one was going to sway her a different direction. No matter what Naomi said to her, it wouldn’t matter.…

Nothing to offer. Not only did Naomi have no hope, as we saw yesterday, but she also felt that she had nothing to offer. Read Ruth 1:14-15. Then she said, “Behold, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” Ruth 1:15 NASB https://bible.com/bible/100/rut.1.15.NASB Naomi has been trying to convince her daughters-in-law to leave her and stay here in the land of Moab. However, they had continued with her up to this point. Finally Naomi convinces Orpah to stay, but Ruth insists on coming. Naomi tries one last time she get her to stay too by telling her that she has absolutely nothing left.…

No hope. That’s how Naomi felt. She saw nothing good or positive about her situation. She didn’t know or understand how there could be anything good around her and as a result, she pushed away everyone near her. Read Ruth 1:10-13. would you therefore wait until they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters; for it is harder for me than for you, for the hand of the Lord has gone forth against me.” Ruth 1:13 NASB https://bible.com/bible/100/rut.1.13.NASB Naomi’s daughters-in-law want to stay with her, but she can’t figure out why anyone would want to stay with her. She has nothing. Nothing to offer. Nothing to…

Lonely people often try to isolate themselves even more. Naomi did. She already felt alone and abandonded, so what did she do? She tried to be completely alone. Read Ruth 1:8-9. And Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to her mother’s house. May the Lord deal kindly with you as you have dealt with the dead and with me. Ruth 1:8 NASB https://bible.com/bible/100/rut.1.8.NASB She basically tells them, “Look, you two have been great, but I got nothing more for you, so you should go back to a place where people can support you.” Lonely people often feel they have nothing to give and assume that…

What’s the first step to take when you feel alone? Naomi knew it, and she took it. Naomi picked herself up and decided to go back to where she had been when she didn’t feel alone. Read Ruth 1:6-7. Then she arose with her daughters-in-law that she might return from the land of Moab, for she had heard in the land of Moab that the Lord had visited His people in giving them food. Ruth 1:6 NASB https://bible.com/bible/100/rut.1.6.NASB Naomi knew she needed to get back to God. She didn’t know what that would do for her, but she recognized that she needed something different, so she started with that. When…

Alone. First Naomi left the land she knew. Then her husband died. Then 10 years later both her sons die. She felt very much alone. Read Ruth 1:3-5. Then both Mahlon and Chilion also died, and the woman was bereft of her two children and her husband. Ruth 1:5 NASB https://bible.com/bible/100/rut.1.5.NASB We have all felt alone at some point in our lives. Maybe it was while we were literally, physically by ourselves. Maybe we were surrounded by people but didn’t feel understood or accepted. There are mamy ways to feel alone. Regardless of the way in which you felt alone, it still hurts all the same. God sees us when…

Living out your faith is hard. We just finished James talling about having faith and acting on it and now we’re going to journey back to the Old Testament and see how two women lived out their faith. Read Ruth 1:1-2. Now it came about in the days when the judges governed, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the land of Moab with his wife and his two sons. Ruth 1:1 NASB https://bible.com/bible/100/rut.1.1.NASB The story doesn’t start out with much faith. This family, living in the promise land, experiences a famine. It doesn’t say anything about…