Ruth 1:16-18 [16] But 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. [m]Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. [17] Where you die, I will die, and there will I be buried. [n]May the Lord do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.” [18] [o]And when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more.
Serving through tears Ruth knew loss. She had lost a husband (Naomi’s son) and was about to lose everything that was familiar to her – her family, her people, her gods. When she goes with Naomi back to the land of Israel, she’s stepping into nothing, and all she has is faith in this God she has come to know. When we are going through pain or difficult seasons, it is easy to isolate ourselves from people/community and drift away from God. It is easy to sit in a pity party and ask God why it’s not working out for us, but it seems to be working for others. Not Ruth.
She works hard for her sake and Naomi’s, even though it’s dangerous for her (Ruth 2:8-9). She is loyal to her mother-in-law, and Her friendship and loyalty have given us some of the most powerful words (Ruth 1:16-18). She serves others through her tears! We can learn something from Ruth. When you and I are in difficult seasons, we can still walk with God in those difficult seasons.
God has given us both license and language for lament, and we can cry and complain _to him_. Moreover, we must not hold back. Let us serve others even through our tears because grace and blessing might just be waiting on the other side of our tears and labor.
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