Would you please underline this verse in your Bible and underscore it in your mind? This is the reason backsliding is so ridiculous. When you leave Bethlehem-judah - the House of Bread, the Place of Praise - and wander off to sojourn in Moab, you will always leave full, but come back empty. Sin always brings sorrow and sadness. Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap (Galatians 6:7).

Naomi went through ten years of proverbial hell on earth and would carry scars for the rest of her life because she left the land of the true and living God.

Gang, the mathematics of sin are always the same, for sin adds to your sorrows, subtracts from your energy, multiplies your troubles, and divides your loyalty.

Naomi went out full, but returned empty. But praise be to our Lord - the remaining three chapters of the Book of Ruth chronicle Naomi’s refilling and recharging as the Lord renews and revives her. Naomi’s story is truly one of the interesting subplots of this magnificent little book.

Even if you have sojourned in Moab for a long season, even though you left full and are now coming back empty, know this: First of all, God can and will refill and revive you. Second, if you will extol His grace and His goodness, He will actually use you to bring a whole lot of Ruths back with you.