The Expat Life

Excerpted from This World Is Not My Home by Dr. Sharon Ma, used with permission.

The Bible is full of expats who moved to countries or places that were not their original birthplaces: Abraham, Moses, the Israelites, Jesus as a baby, and the apostle Paul. I could name more and more. Probably my favorite expatriates in the Old Testament are Naomi and Ruth. Their story has emotional elements of the experiences that many expats go through: joy, loss, determination, loyalty, and ultimate rejoicing.

In different ways, both ladies were expats. The book of Ruth tells us that Naomi followed her husband to Moab, where they lived for ten years. They set up a life that seemed to be going pretty smoothly for the first part of the story. Her sons married and settled down. However, disaster struck when Naomi lost her husband and both her sons. Distraught, widowed, and childless, she eventually chose to return to the familiar homeland of her birth with nothing but an empty heart and broken dreams.

At first, her two daughters-in-law traveled with Naomi and promised to go with her to Judea. Broken and bitter in her grief, Naomi encouraged them to stay in Moab, and eventually only Ruth accompanied Naomi back to Bethlehem. I can’t blame the second daughter-in-law for staying in Moab. It is often terrifying to move overseas, leaving everything familiar for the unknown.

With Ruth, her Moabite daughter-in-law, traveling to Judea with her, Naomi wasn’t truly alone. In Bethlehem, Ruth became the expat in the story. Apart from her mother-in-law, Ruth had no relationship with Bethlehem, no reason for moving to Judea, no plans for the future, and seemingly no purpose other than to show her love for Naomi, as she demonstrated in her now famous pledge:

Ruth’s choice to follow Naomi shows her faith in Naomi’s God (now Ruth’s God), her commitment to the family she had married into, and her dedication to serving Naomi. Ruth left behind everything familiar to travel to a land she had never visited. She left certainty for uncertainty, overcame fear with faith, and chose love over selfishness.

Have you had to make some of the same choices? Have you had to leave the familiarity of your life for an unknown future? Have you had to step out from certainty into the unknown? I remember the trepidation of moving overseas. Our family’s transition as expats was planned to be a permanent move overseas. Like Ruth, I wasn’t sure when or if I would return to my birth country, and that created a lot of anxiety and uncertainty for me.

Thankfully, no matter where I go, however, I can hold on to the promise that God Almighty will never abandon me. In the Old Testament, God encouraged Joshua by saying to him as he prepared to cross the Jordan River into the promised land of Canaan:

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

Joshua 1:9

God will never abandon us or leave us on our own, no matter where we go in the world. We can be reassured that God’s presence is not limited by geography. Regardless of our circumstances or what conditions we face, we can fully rest in His promise to be with us throughout the journey. No matter where we go or what we face, He is always with us, offering strength and courage.

Reflection
1. Have you had to make some of the same choices as Ruth? Have you had to leave the familiarity of your life for an unknown future or step out from certainty into the unknown? How did you experience God’s presence during that journey?

2. Joshua 1:9 reminds us that God is with us wherever we go. How does this promise encourage you when facing uncertainty or stepping into a new season of life?

Scripture Reading of the Week
Ruth 1
Joshua 1