The Book of Ruth begins with Naomi deciding to leave Moab for Bethlehem. She urges her daughters-in-law to return to their families, but Ruth decides to go with Naomi (Ruth 1:18-22). She chooses to follow God and leave her life behind.
Let’s contrast this with Lot’s wife. We remember her as the one who looked back at Sodom even though the angel warned her not to (Genesis 19:17-26). And we all know that as a consequence, she turned into a pillar of salt (v. 26). We don’t know exactly why she looked back. She could’ve been worried about her children. Verse 15 reveals that she had daughters whose husbands didn’t heed Lot’s warning. So Lot’s wife had to leave them behind. She could’ve been afraid to leave her comfort zone. Or maybe she was looking back on the worldly things.
Either way, her response contrasts sharply with Ruth. Ruth was willing to leave behind her family to go with her mother-in-law to Bethlehem. She was willing to leave her old life behind to follow God. Ruth wasn’t afraid to leave comfort zone. She looked forward, not back.
I think this is important to keep in mind today. It’s so easy to think about what life used to be like before the quarantine, before the pandemic, before social distancing. But God has a reason for this that we may not understand yet. Maybe that reason is to get to work on the Great Commission. Maybe it’s to remove us from something harmful. Or maybe He’s calling us out of Moab or Sodom or wherever we currently are to someplace new. We must be willing to leave our comfort zone, keep our eyes forward. Instead of looking back, let’s look forward. Let’s focus on where God wants us to be.
Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you. – Philippians 3:13-15
I think we all struggle with this, especially during this time. I myself have begun wishing things could just go back to the way they were before. But maybe God is removing distractions from our lives to get our attention. Maybe He cleared our social calendars so we can’t say we’re too busy anymore. Too busy to spend time with our spouse or children. Too busy to study the Bible or spend time in prayer or just listen for Him.
Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. – Hebrews 12:1-2
Following God often requires some type of sacrifice. Sometimes we become complacent in our current situations and God is ready to move us somewhere different. Moving takes a leap of faith. And even when we do move, it’s tempting to look back. We must remember when God takes something away, when He moves us, it’s because He has something better in store for us. (I address this in my post Just a Thought: Let Go of the Spoon.)
