What Ruth 1 Teaches Us About Trusting God When Things Get Hard
Ruth 1 might seem like a sad start to a sweet story, but there’s more going on here than most people notice. When you slow down and really look at it, there’s some powerful lessons about fear, failure, and how God works even when life feels upside down. Let me show you three things I noticed.
1. He said God was King, but didn’t live like it
The Bible says in Ruth 1:1, “there was a famine in the land.” Most believe this happened during the time of Gideon, when Israel was being bullied by the Midianites. These enemies would steal crops, scare families, and cause a lot of fear. So Elimelech takes his wife Naomi and their two boys and runs to Moab.
Now that might seem smart at first—go where there’s food—but Moab was an enemy of Israel. Elimelech’s name literally means “my God is King,” but he didn’t act like it. Instead of trusting God in the hard times, he ran to the world for help. It’s like saying, “God is in control,” but then not acting like He is.
2. What looked safe became painful
At first, it probably felt like a relief. Food, safety, maybe even a fresh start. But things quickly fell apart. Elimelech dies. Then his sons die. Naomi is left alone with her two daughters-in-law in a foreign land.
That’s how sin and bad choices often work. They seem helpful in the beginning, but they cost more than you expected. Elimelech just wanted to feed his family. But he ended up losing it. If we don’t stay close to God during the hard seasons, we can find ourselves in places we never thought we’d go.
3. God was working behind the scenes the whole time
This is my favorite part of chapter 1. Naomi is bitter. She says in verse 21, “I went out full, and the Lord hath brought me home again empty.” But she wasn’t really empty. She had Ruth. And Ruth, a Moabite, was about to become part of the biggest redemption story the world has ever seen.
God used Ruth to bring King David into the world. And through David came Jesus. That means, even when Naomi thought God had turned His back, He was already setting things up for something big.
It’s easy to judge Elimelech, but if we’re honest, we’ve all had moments where we ran instead of trusted. But even in our failures, God can still write a story that brings Him glory. Don’t run to Moab. Stay faithful. Trust your King—especially when things are hard. He’s working even when you don’t see it.
