Life can be messy sometimes, and unfortunately, no one is exempt. Trials and struggles land across the shoulders of good and bad people. When the heavy hits, it can be easy to start believing that God is disconnected, removed, and distant.
But what if God is really the One who sees every detail of our lives from start to finish, and plans ahead for us, knowing just what we will need, right when we need it? What if our Heavenly Father showed us His love by stepping into our situation and redeeming it beyond anything we could dare to imagine? What if He is doing that in your life right now?
We catch a glimpse of God working this way in the story of Ruth. You can read the whole story in the Bible, in the book of Ruth, but I’ll give you the three-minute version here.
Ruth’s story actually starts with her mother-in-law, Naomi, who lived in Moab with her husband Elimilek and two sons, Mahlon and Kilion, and their wives, Orpah and Ruth. Originally, Naomi hailed from Bethlehem, but famine in the land had prompted the family’s move to Moab.
In just a short time, tragedy struck and Naomi lost her husband and both of her sons, leaving Naomi to fend for herself along with her widowed daughters-in-law. Naomi had heard that there was food back in her hometown of Bethlehem, and having nothing left, she decided to go there. Naomi loved Orpah and Ruth and was concerned for them, so she encouraged them to go back home to their families, so they could remarry and have some hope of security. Eventually, Orpah agreed and tearily set out for her home, but Ruth doubled down and made one of the most famous covenant promises in the Bible in verses 16 & 17:
“Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.”
So the bereaved pair went on to Bethlehem and arrived in the late spring, around the beginning of the barley harvest. During that time, it was the practice of harvesters to allow strangers, widows, and impoverished people to come after the day’s work and glean grain that had been missed or fallen to the ground. So Ruth asked Naomi to let her go glean in the fields to bring them back some grain.
This is where Ruth’s story could easily be a Hallmark movie. The field Ruth just happened to go to turned out to be one of Boaz’s fields! Boaz, of course, noticed her working there and invited Ruth to stay and work alongside the other women in his household, where he gave her food, water, and safety.
Ruth was blown away by Boaz’s generosity and asked why he would show her such generosity, especially as a foreigner. Boaz, being all dreamy-like, said her reputation has preceded her. He had heard about what she did for Naomi and was, frankly, impressed.
Ruth was flooded with relief, and Boaz invited her to eat with the harvesters and instructed them to let her glean and to even take some grain out of the bundles for her. She kept working until evening and went home with enough grain to last them a couple of weeks!
When Ruth told Naomi what happened, Naomi was amazed at God’s loving provision, because Boaz was a relative and a kinsman-redeemer. It was a tradition in their culture that when a man died and was childless, a close relative could marry his widow, which secured the family’s name and estate, as well as provided comfort and protection for the widow.
So under Naomi’s wise advice, Ruth continued to work every day in Boaz’s fields until the harvest was over. Then at the right time, Naomi prompted Ruth to go to Boaz and seek him as her kinsman-redeemer.
Like every good Hallmark movie, there was one hiccup. Boaz knew there was another man who was an even closer relative, and who had the right to be kinsman redeemer first. It was Boaz’s duty to ask him if he wanted to claim that right, knowing that he may not get to marry Ruth. After some suspense, the other relative gave up his right, which freed Boaz to finally marry Ruth! Roll Credits!
As fun as Hallmark movies can be, it is incredible to see all of the truly “divine coincidences” that happen in Ruth’s story. Each step of the way, we see God’s loving provision and plan unfold, meeting Ruth & Naomi’s every need and loving them in all the details, even the things that we might think are beneath God’s notice. The blessing of being able to read Ruth’s whole story at once also gives us a 30,000 foot view of the scope of what God was doing through Ruth’s story.
After Ruth & Boaz were married, they had a son who would one day become grandfather to King David, and an ancestor of Jesus Christ. Let that sink in for a sec. God was actively working in every detail of Ruth’s story, redeeming her pain for purpose, and through her family, laid the groundwork for the redemption of all humanity.
There was no way for Ruth to know that when she was at the crossroads, choosing whether to go home to her family or follow Naomi into unfamiliar territory, all that God would accomplish. Even when life seemed impossibly hard, Ruth and Naomi focused on God. They stepped out in faith and God lavished His love on them, working behind the scenes to orchestrate a future that they never could have on their own.
It might be tempting to think that God was just working things out for Ruth because of who would later be born in her line of ancestry. But Ruth’s story is there for us to get a clearer picture of God’s love at work in our everyday lives, and to see what faith in action can look like.
We all have our own story, with twists and turns, some good, some bad. God is actively working in our stories, too. He is already present in the details of our lives and gives us the same love and attention He gave to Ruth and Naomi. He sees us, loves us, and there is no detail beneath His notice and care.
I know there have been times that I’ve felt overwhelmed, knocked flat by life’s blows, not knowing what my next step should be. Without fail, when I focus on God, my perspective shifts and I begin to recognize all the ways He has already been working to meet me in the middle of my mess. I am reminded that God is faithful and unrelenting in His love for us. I can more readily trust that He has planned ahead for anything I may face and that His plans will come together at just the right time, in just the right way.
When Naomi and Ruth followed God faithfully in the circumstances that were right in front of them, God used them to help establish a lineage of the coming Messiah that would change the world forever. What if our being faithful in our own circumstances could have a kingdom effect in the world? How might your faith and trust in God impact those around you as you wait on the Lord?
We are all invited to be a part of God’s greater story of unfailing love and redemption. He weaves our story into His, paying careful attention to every detail and guiding our every step, even the ones that seem mundane. All we need to do is keep our eyes fixed on Him. When we lean in and seek shelter and protection at His feet, he never fails to give it. When we give Him our whole hearts, we can have peace and wisdom in any situation, good or bad, knowing that He is there in the details and will lead us through. The road may be rough in some patches, but we can trust that He will work all things together for the good of those who love Him, because ultimately, He loved us first.
