What Was Ruth's Superpower? Interview with Author Tessa Afshar

Join Today in the Word as we talk with Tessa Afshar, author of In the Field of Grace, a fictional retelling of the book of Ruth. In the Field of Grace is the Today in the Word Bookshelf pick for April 2026 and available at a deep discount for readers. Tessa describes how a dream encounter with Jesus eventually led to her conversion to Christianity. Her love of novels and the study of the Bible developed into her interest in dramatizing Bible stories like this one about Ruth. Tessa describes Ruth’s “superpower” of clinging, healthy attachment. She also explains the significance of the famine at the opening of Ruth and how the symbolic use of “bread” in Ruth’s story points forward to Jesus. Born in the Middle East to a nominally Muslim family, Tessa converted to Christianity in her twenties. She is a devoted wife, a mediocre gardener, and an enthusiastic cook of biblical recipes. Tessa’s award-winning novels have been on Publishers Weekly and CBA bestseller lists and have been translated into 13 languages. Winner of the ECPA Bronze Milestone award, the Christy, the INSPY, and the ECPA Christian Book Award for her Bible study, The Way Home, Tessa holds a Master of Divinity from Yale, where she served as co-chair of the Evangelical Fellowship for one year. Today in the Word is a daily devotional published by Moody Bible Institute. It is available by email or the downloadable app. Sign up today and join the current devotional study at https://todayintheword.org/subscribe. To learn more about Tessa's fictional retelling about the book of Ruth and to purchase In the Field of Grace at a special discount, go to https://todayintheword.org/bookshelf.