In the book of Ruth chapter 1 verse 18, Ruth is discouraging her two daughters in law from following her on her journey back to Bethlehem. She and her family had been living for a number of years in the land of Moab, which was a forbidden place for God’s people. As a matter of fact, Psalm 60:8 says that Moab was God’s washbowl. It’s a place that we choose, but God uses to scrub our flesh. It is a place of compromise, and self effort. Her husband and her two sons died in the land of Moab, then she heard about a visitation of God in Bethlehem and decided to return. When we are in a place where God has scrubbed our flesh we start looking for a visitation from God. She confesses in verse 21 that when she went out of Bethlehem to journey into Moab she went out full but now she is returning empty. Is important to realize that when you get tired of living by your own self effort in a life of compromise, the only way to come back into revival and fullness is to come back empty, and desperate. In discouraging her daughters in law to not follow her into Judah one went back but Ruth refused to turn back. It says in verse 18 that when Naomi realized that Ruth was determined she no longer tried to turn her back. The Hebrew word “determined,” literally means “firm,” or “conquered.” Once your heart has been conquered and you confess your emptiness, and your longing for personal revival then you’re ready.
