STXWM Blog

As a global worker living overseas, a foreigner making my home in a foreign land, I’m grateful for the story of Ruth. She understood the challenges of having a cross-cultural family, of uprooting and re-planting, of learning how to find her identity not in a place, but in God.

Ruth grew up in Moab, a land that happened to fare well during a time of famine in Israel. When an Israelite family of four from Bethlehem moved to Moab to escape the famine, Ruth was courted by one of their two sons. After the husband and both sons of the family died, Ruth and her mother-in-law and sister-in-law were the only ones that remained. 

After hearing that the Lord had blessed the land of Judah with good crops, Naomi, Ruth’s mother-in-law, decided to return home to Bethlehem. What was home for Ruth’s mother-in-law was not home for Ruth, but out of love and commitment to her family, Ruth packed her bags to go with Naomi back to Judah.

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Over ten years ago the Lord began to stir in my heart that He was calling us to a people that we did not know, to a place we had never been, to make our home on foreign soil. Although we had traveled outside of the United States a handful of times, we had never stepped foot in the country we said “yes” to moving to.

When we told people we were going to move to this little country in Southeast Asia most people have never heard of, the most common question was “are you taking your kids?” Although it struck me as funny that people would think we’d just leave our 8, 6, and 4 year old here and go without them (“Bye, guys, good luck with elementary school and puberty, we’ll see you in a few years!”) I understood that they were concerned for our family’s welfare, especially that of our children. It’s a big ask and a big sacrifice our kids make, to leave everything they know and make their home in a new land.

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As they headed toward Judah, Naomi recognized the significance of the sacrifice her daughters-in-law were making, and she gave them her permission and blessing to stay in their motherland and re-marry. Ruth and her sister-in-law wept at the thought of leaving Naomi, and begged to continue on with her. Eventually, Orpah, the other daughter-in-law, decided to stay behind, but Ruth held onto Naomi and said,

“Don’t ask me to leave you and turn back. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.” (Ruth 1:16)

Ruth valued her relationship with Naomi more than roots; she prioritized commitment over comfort. 

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I remember at one point as we were preparing to leave, a sweet lady in our congregation said, “You know, you don’t have to do this. You can stay here and continue ministry. You don’t have to go.” While we were surprised by this sweet saint’s comment, we knew it came from a heart of concern and compassion. She loved us, and she wanted us to be safe. Just like Naomi told her daughters-in-law that it was ok if they didn’t go with her, we were told that it was ok if we stayed put, stayed comfortable, stayed safe.

But God doesn’t call us to be safe, He calls us to be surrendered. 

Just like Ruth, God was asking us to prioritize our relationship with Him more than our roots, to prioritize commitment to His call over comfort. And in our willingness to do so, He has proven Himself to be faithful to walk with us every step of the journey as we’ve made our home in an unfamiliar land, learned an unfamiliar language, studied an unfamiliar culture, and trusted that sometimes we must be willing to make His people— even ones from another culture and country— our people, too.

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As we read in the book of Ruth, the journey of faith she decided to take with her mother-in-law to Judah would be one that would bring redemption to Naomi’s family name, love and acceptance to this young widow, and a place in the lineage of Jesus to an outsider. It was not an easy journey, and Ruth likely had many moments of wondering if and how things would work out. 

She didn’t wait until Naomi could share all the details of how the Lord would provide for them before saying “yes” to going. In fact, Naomi was in a low place emotionally and spiritually, so Ruth likely felt a sense of responsibility to be a support and comfort to Naomi. We shouldn’t forget that Ruth was grieving her own loss— the loss of a husband and hope of a family— as she also lost her sense of rootedness and belonging. There was much uncertainty in Ruth’s future, but she still went.

Sometimes God’s invitation to GO comes at unlikely times, to unlikely people, with unlikely outcomes.

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Ten years after the Lord first invited us to GO, we find ourselves still making our home on foreign soil, living as guests in a country not our own, but deeply in love with the people and place He has led us to. Like Ruth, we have had many moments that the timing and details just didn’t make sense to us. He didn’t give us the full picture when He invited us to GO, and we still have to choose daily to live and walk by faith, believing that our “yes” will bring about redemption in the lives of those He has called us to.

Like Ruth, we are learning day by day not to find our identity in a place, but in our God.

by Heather F.

Ruth’s decision to say “yes” to an invitation to GO to a foreign land was audacious. Today, God is still extending that invitation; many people groups around the world still have no access to the gospel unless someone is willing to go to them and share it. As an act of audacious faith today, I invite you to pray this prayer and ask the Lord if perhaps He is calling you to GO.

Lord, I admit that the idea of moving to a foreign land sounds hard and scary. I don’t feel like I am cut out for something like that. But I also know that You equip those You call, and You are faithful to bless our obedience. Today, in humility and surrender, I offer myself to You and want You to know that I am willing to go if you’re calling me. Give me a heart for foreign people and foreign lands, and let my ears be attentive to Your Spirit speaking to me. If You call me, I will go. 

Amen