Day 13 — Where You Go, I’ll Go

“But Ruth replied: ‘Do not urge me to leave you or to turn from following you. For wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you live, I will live; your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.’”

— Ruth 1:16 (BSB)

Naomi had lost everything. She had moved far from home with her husband and two sons during a famine. Then, in that faraway land, her husband died. And later, both of her sons died too.

Naomi was left with her two daughters-in-law, Ruth and Orpah. They weren’t Israelites. They came from the country of Moab. Naomi decided to go back to her hometown of Bethlehem, alone. She told the two young women to go back to their own families and find new husbands. She had nothing left to give them.

Orpah cried, kissed Naomi goodbye and went home.

But Ruth wouldn’t leave. She held on to Naomi and said one of the most beautiful promises of friendship ever spoken: “Wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you live, I will live; your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.”

Ruth could have gone back to her comfortable life. Instead, she chose to go to a strange country, as a foreigner, with a sad older woman who had nothing, because she loved her. And she chose Naomi’s God as her own.

That’s loyalty. It’s sticking with someone when it’s hard, when it costs you something, and when you don’t get anything out of it.

And God blessed Ruth’s loyalty. In Bethlehem, she met a kind man named Boaz, and they got married. They had a son named Obed, who became the grandfather of King David. So Ruth, a young woman from another country, became part of the family line of Jesus!

Some friendships are just about having fun together. That’s great! But the best friendships are like Ruth and Naomi’s: friends who stick with each other through hard times, who don’t walk away when things get difficult, and who help each other follow God.

What kind of friend are you? When a friend is going through something hard, do you stick close, or drift away?

Think about it: Why do you think Ruth stayed with Naomi when Orpah went home? What kind of friend do you want to be?

Try this: Think of a friend who’s going through something hard. Find a way to stick close to her this week, like sitting with her, writing her a note or praying for her.

Dear God, thank You for Ruth’s loyal love. Help me be a friend who sticks close, even when it’s hard. Help me be the kind of friend who helps others follow You. And thank You for being loyal to me always. In Jesus’ name, Amen.