Bible Study & Devotional Day 125
Written By: Magan Martin
Guiding Scripture: Ruth 1:4 “After they had lived there about ten years. . .”
Ruth 1:6 “When Naomi heard in Moab that the LORD had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them, she and her daughters-in-law prepared to return home from there.”
🔴 It’s Not Too Late
Turning Away
I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve taken a short walk away from the Lord. In my most recent experience, I allowed myself to be ruled by my feelings. Anger. Pride. Hurt. So much hurt.
See, back in 2011, my now ex-husband and I divorced. Wait, don’t jump to conclusions. While that impacted my relationship with God, it was something else that caused me to step away.
When the church I was attending at the time found out that we were divorcing, they quietly pulled me aside one morning after church and asked me not to return. They publicly proclaimed a target audience: men, ages 18-35. And while I certainly didn’t meet those criteria, my soon-to-be ex-husband did, and the church had concluded that if I were to continue to attend there, he would not likely feel comfortable being there.
So I left.
With all my hurt bottling up inside of me and displaying itself through my anger. I didn’t just leave that church; I left the church. I still spent many hours clinging to God through His Word, but I did “give up meeting together,” even with the warning of Hebrews 10:25.
The Repercussions
I firmly believe that God gives us rules and direction for our good. As you can probably imagine, it eventually affected my daily walk with God when I left the church. I ultimately stopped reading my Bible every day, stopped praying daily, stopped singing worship songs to Him. I stopped talking about Him. It’s not like I suddenly went out and lost all moral control of myself, but I was not connected with Him like my soul wanted to be.
Have you ever experienced the kind of yearning that comes from disconnection with God?
It’s so hard to explain, but it’s like your literal soul is crying out for something, and nothing quenches the thirst until you’ve drawn near to the Lord again. For me, it affects my mood, my sleep, everything. And what’s so sad about it is that I know what the problem is—I need to reconnect with my Savior!
He’s Always Waiting
The thing about God is that He is always ready and willing to bring you back into the fold—praise the Lord! When I was prepared to come to Him again, the moment I turned back towards Him, He was there.
Just like He was for Naomi. See, Naomi’s family left the Promised Land when a famine came, and things got hard. Let me put this in perspective:
Naomi and her family walked out of the Promised Land back into the desert. The same area the Israelites had wandered for 40 years. Naomi’s family settled into a pagan nation. Naomi and her husband had great intentions—to protect and provide for their kids—but it was the wrong thing to do. They showed no faith in God to provide for them.
They paid for that dearly.
Naomi lost her husband and both her sons. But when Naomi heard about what the Lord was doing for the Israelites back in Judah, I can only imagine the yearning within her soul. She must have longed for the comfort of the Lord’s arms. Naomi set aside her guilt and the shame she must’ve felt, and she turned back to the Lord. And guess what. He was there waiting. Over ten years later, He was still there waiting for her.
It’s not too late!
Whatever you’ve been holding on to or keeping you from entirely relying on God, let it go! He’s waiting with open arms just for you. You take that first step, and He will meet you and walk the path with You.
You can join me to learn more about Naomi’s story on Wrong Kind of Christian Podcast, A Study of Ruth series.
~Magan Martin
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This devotional was submitted by Magan Martin, a loving contributor to Our Given Purpose. Edited by Torrie Slaughter the founder of Our Given Purpose® in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
🔴 The Bible In A Year Daily Reading Plan
Judges 21:1-Ruth 1:22, John 4:4-42, Psalm 105:16-36, Proverbs 14:26-27
Download or Print the One Year Bible Reading Plan
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