Christian Devotional – April 18, 2017

Continuing in Ruth, we read chapter 1 starting in verse 14. Naomi is hopeless, but she has a daughter-in-law Ruth who refuses to be pushed away. Hopeless people tend to push everyone else away. Ruth refused to go. She clung to Naomi, and she explained in very specific terms all the things that she was willing to do to be able to stay with Naomi. When we encounter hopeless people, the thing they need more than anything else is someone to cling to them. They need someone who refuses to be pushed away no matter what.

Even after Ruth demonstrates such an amazing loyalty, once they get back to Israel, Naomi precedes to push away everyone there too. The women come out to greet her and welcome her home, but she says, “No, no don’t even call me by the same name. My life has become very bitter so call me bitter too.” If we have lost our hope, we will find ourselves continually pushing people away.

We must learn to resist that urge for only having people around us will it help us to see more clearly the truth that our situation. And, if we find ourselves near someone who is hopeless comma we must decide to cling to them. We must decide that we will be their hope even when they can’t see it right then. Which person are you? Are you hopeless, or do you know someone who is hopeless? Who do we need to impact today?