Ruth 2:8-13 / Finding Belonging on the Battlefield

July 5, 2022.Reading time less than 1 minute.

God led Ruth to the field of Boaz – she was right where she was supposed to be, but that didn’t stop the sun from beating down on her, people from being cruel, or the hardships of the day. Yet among the hardships she found something unexpected, a sense of belonging. Follow Along: Subscribe on YouTube / […]

Ruth 2:1-7 / Doing the Degrading Faithfully

June 30, 2022.Reading time 1 minute.

When only emptiness loomed on the horizon, Ruth didn’t wait for good fortune to just pop up on her doorstep. She searched out the provisions in her new country, threw her hair up in a pony tail, put on her work boots, and headed out at day break … with divine appointments awaiting her as […]

Ruth 1:19-22 / Embracing Emptiness with Hope

June 28, 2022.Reading time 1 minute.

Choosing to come home with only a hope that you will be embraced can be terrifying. But the moment we meet a joyous crowd face-to-face welcoming us home without a question of where we have been, the lies of the enemy (in our own head) are quickly exposed. Although emptiness is still all that they […]

Ruth 1:8-18 / Going Against the Sensible Choice

June 23, 2022.Reading time 1 minute.

There was a sensible choice, to head back to the comfort of your old life, OR there was the other choice, heading into the unknown and giving yourself over to the direction of the one-true God. Two women, each choosing opposite choices. One we stop talking about at this point of time. The other we […]

Ruth 1:6-7 / Only One Step Away From Heading Home

June 21, 2022.Reading time 1 minute.

We are only one step away from heading home, but just as the road away from home can be smoothly paved – the road back home can often hold obstacles of shame. Just remember, God is not a God of shame, but of redemption. Can favor be restored? Can all our past mess-ups be redeemed? […]

Ruth 1:3-5 / Tales of Living in the Land of Compromise

June 16, 2022.Reading time 1 minute.

The road away from God is always smoothly paved, but could be headed in a direction you don’t want to go. Naomi discovers this the hard way here in the beginning of Ruth. When we choose a live of comfort over a life of character, we may end up in a place we never wanted […]

Ruth: Starting at the Very Beginning / Ruth 1:1-2

June 14, 2022.Reading time less than 1 minute.

We are back with short devotions! This time through the book of Ruth. So, let’s start at the very beginning; a very good place to start. In just two simple verses the backdrop is set for the story of Ruth. We’ll drop a new devotion on Ruth every Tuesday and Thursday! Follow along at http://www.SweetSycamore.com […]

Hagar: Women of Genesis

February 16, 2022.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Have you ever felt like you are an understudy gone wrong – a subplot in God’s story that just doesn’t have the happy ending? I believe that could have been Hagar’s thoughts on her own life. She was a product of other’s decisions on her life. She watched God speak to everyone else … until […]

Sarah: Women of Genesis

February 8, 2022.Reading time 1 minute.

Have you ever felt that you are a product of other’s bad choices that have affected your life in big ways? Sarah finds herself in Genesis 12 & 20 in the same circumstance through Abraham’s lack of faith. Instead of raising little ones as her heart desired, Abraham is passing her off as his sister […]

Eve Part 2: Women of Genesis

January 25, 2022.Reading time 1 minute.

Continuing on with Women of Genesis we look at the second part of Eve’s life – the moment when everything changed. It’s so easy to look at God as a military general shaking His fist at Adam and Eve, but within this devotion I would like to present a different perspective. Perhaps God was working […]