Well.

We're coming towards the end of our 17 powerful women of the scriptures, or
rather I'd rephrase it and say the ordinary women of the scriptures who have had
powerful experiences of God that touched their families or touched whole nations.
Today, when we pray, we will pray about a person we have heard many times before,
and there is a book in the scriptures that is dedicated to her, and so she's not a
stranger to us. And that is Ruth in the scriptures. The book of Ruth is not a very,
very big book.

It's a it's a very short book, and it speaks of the story of Ruth, her husband who
passes away. And her mother-in-law tells her about the situation that she is in.
That is Naomi. So Naomi has 2 daughters in law, and both the sons have passed away.
So Naomi asked both the daughters in law to leave and go back to their families
saying that she has no capability of taking care of them or providing for them
anymore.

There's nothing positive connected to Naomi's life that the daughters in Lorkhan
even look forward to. So Naomi, in her graciousness, tells Ruth and the other
sister-in-law that you, the other daughter-in-law, that you, both of you, shall go
back, return to your own families so that you can get on with your lives. And this
is a genuine, genuine prayer from a caring mother-in-law towards her daughters in
law. And one of them would go back. Hugging her mother-in-law, she would go back.

But when it came to Ruth, Ruth stayed on. And Ruth would tell this. This is how it
is described in Ruth 114. They wept aloud, and Orpha kissed her mother-in-law that
is the other daughter-in-law and she left. But Ruth clung to Naomi.

She clung to Naomi. Now, there was nothing great in Naomi. There's no future for
Naomi as well. She's a widow herself. She has no wealth.

She has no place to stay. There's no benefit that Ruth is going to get by holding
on to Naomi. And Naomi is giving her the freedom by telling her, you go back to
your family. You go back to a situation that will be better for you, that will be
more healthier for you, that will be more easier and comfortable for you, that will
give you a future. But the scripture tells us Ruth clung on to Naomi.

Why would you cling on to someone or something that's going to give you no
benefits? Wouldn't you rather just go back and move on in life and look at the more
brighter things ahead of you? But she clung on to Naomi. And she says, don't press
me to leave you. This is in verse 16 of Ruth 1.

Don't press me to leave you or turn back from following you. Where you go, I will
go. Where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people. Your God will be
my God.

Where you die, I will die. There I will be buried. May the Lord do thus and so to
me, and more as well, even if death parts me from you. It's a beautiful prayer
that's made by Ruth. She had a future in front of her.

She had many more things, according to the world, that would be considered as
beneficial for her. But Ruth doesn't just leave everything because it was
convenient to leave it. Rather, she stayed on in a very inconvenient position. She
didn't just use a person and walk off. When Naomi isn't of any great value or help,
she doesn't just walk away.

And that is what Ruth teaches us. The story of Ruth is far more than just what I'm
describing. And you should, if you haven't read the book of Ruth, please do read
the book of Ruth. But what we see over here, the start itself, the story actually
this is just the first chapter. The story just keeps going on after that.
And, that is interesting in itself. So it's not a very long book. It's just 4
chapters of the book of Ruth. But at the start itself, her attitude defines what
kind of a person she is. When she says she will cling on to her mother-in-law, who
has nothing to give her.

She doesn't just move on. She doesn't just leave everything behind and walk off to
something more convenient. So Ruth is teaching us a very big lesson today. Don't
just walk away when things are inconvenient for you. Don't just walk away when
someone or something is of no more use to you.

It is important to show an attitude that the Lord has a plan in why he has placed
me in a situation or with someone, even if that person is not of great, great use
to me, if that person is is not of great, benefit to me as well, but something that
God has, some blessing that God has in store. And that is the attitude that we
should always have, just like Ruth had that attitude. I'm not leaving it behind.
I'm not walking away. Don't walk away from our problems.

Don't walk away from situations that are inconvenient. Don't walk away from
difficult moments. Don't walk away from responsibilities. Ruth had the
responsibility of her mother-in-law, even though her mother-in-law set her free
from it. She had the responsibility towards her mother-in-law, and she stayed on.

The story goes that she was later blessed by getting married to Boaz, and her life
was blessed in abundance when she didn't walk away in a difficult circumstance. And
she did what was right in the sight of God. And she took up her responsibilities
and was faithful to her responsibility. The Lord blessed her on the other side. And
we see a very different story of Ruth compared to what we read in Ruth chapter 1.

Chapter 2, 3, 4, we read the beautiful miracle of how Ruth's life is blessed. And
with that, Naomi's life is blessed as well. Today, the Lord is asking us from this
simple woman Ruth. She wasn't a great military leader. She wasn't even of great
significance in the land of Israel.

A simple woman. A book is dedicated to her, but a simple woman who decided, I'm not
just walking away. Don't walk away. The Lord might have placed you in situations
that are difficult. Don't walk away.

Stay there however hard it is, however difficult it is. And from there, the Lord
will bring in great blessings. The story will change. The script will change. There
will be a twist to it.

But you have to wait and be faithful, just like Ruth waited and was faithful. Let's
pray for that grace today that we will have the attitude of Ruth. There will always
be a Ruth in us whenever we are faced with a situation of continuing and trying in
difficult circumstances. Whatever circumstance you're facing today, don't
circumstances. Whatever circumstance you're facing today, don't just walk away from
it.

Difficult marriage, don't just walk away from it. Difficult family, don't just walk
away from it. A difficult business, don't just walk away from it. A difficult
parish, don't just walk away from it. A difficult prayer group, don't just walk
away from it.

Stay there, and ask the spirit to guide you. And have the heart of Ruth, because
one day, the story will change, and the blessings will come through. Let us all
kneel.