But Ruth replied:
Don’t plead with me to abandon you
or to return and not follow 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 (CSB)

Ruth stayed. She could have left Naomi, her widowed mother-in-law, to fend for herself as she traveled back to her native home in Israel. Ruth, a widow herself, could have gone back to her own people in the land of Moab. But she stayed. Even after Naomi had lost all hope and was convinced that God had turned His back on her, Ruth chose to remain by Naomi’s side and provide for her by gleaning whatever the harvesters left behind in the fields. Ruth was a faithful daughter-in-law, and even more so, a faithful friend. Through Ruth’s friendship, God slowly softened Naomi’s heart, and ultimately, He blessed Ruth with a son and Naomi with a grandson.

We see a glimpse of God’s faithful friendship and presence to us in Ruth’s story. He is unwavering in His commitment to us, sending His Son to live, die, and rise again so we may have an inheritance in heaven. Rest in His friendship, and be a friend like Him to someone else today.

Adapted from the (in)courage Devotional Bible.