God's Blessings in the Most Unexpected Moments
So Ruth went to the fields and gathered the grain
that the workers cutting the grain had left behind.
It just so happened that the field belonged to Boaz, from Elimelech’s family.
(Ruth 02: 03)
During one of my recent morning quiet times, as I began to read the second chapter in the Book of Ruth, I wondered in awe at the magnificent and marvellous ways in which God works in our lives. As I stood there with Ruth in the midst of that busy field, I was able to feel the dry breeze with the smell of newly harvested grain. With an unclear view from the downward-looking eye that tried to trace every left-behind grain, the entire day was not easy.
As I kept continuing with the chapter, tears brimmed my eyes, realising, one by one, how amazing our Lord God had been in the life of Ruth. The Bible says that "it just so happened" that the field in which Ruth was picking the grains belonged to Boaz! And, we know from the reading of the entire book that this was a special day in the life of Ruth. It turned out to be a beautiful day of 'first impressions' which brought in that much-expected blessing of marriage in the shattered life of this young widow Ruth. God changed Ruth's life forever and made her a blessing to generations that followed.
I shouted within myself saying "What? Did it really "just so happen?" Was it just a coincidence that Ruth went to that field which belonged to Boaz? Really?" It is then that I felt the Holy Spirit helping me to understand what was happening. We could describe it as "it just so happened" or "it turned out to be." But more than these coincidences for the human expression, let us remember that God had His everlasting plan for mankind through this 'it just so happened' moment. I say this with so much of awe because the entire Book of Ruth ends with some surprising lines which reveal that Ruth and Boaz were blessed with a son and he was named Obed. Obed was the father of Jesse, and Jesse was the father of David. Let us not forget that God used this moment as His wonderful way to bring His son Jesus Christ into this world. Jesus came from the line of David. Oh wow! Did you see that?
This led me to share with you two important things that I find in the life of Ruth which were monumental towards God's great mission. Ruth became a servant of God, even without her knowledge, and served in the way of leading this line of David. Because of these two beautiful parts of Ruth's life, God's plan to redeem the world through His son Jesus Christ became so beautiful in synchronisation. This great blessing from God came in Ruth's life in the most unexpected moment.
Ruth chose the path of God more than anything else in her life.
First of all, if we could read the entire Book of Ruth we would understand that Ruth, as a young widow, lived with her widowed mother-in-law Naomi. In the land of Moab, as a migrant, Naomi lost her husband Elimelech. After a while, her two sons, Mahlon and Kilion, married Moabite women named Orpah and Ruth. These three women felt shattered and hopeless when the times came when both Mahlon and Kilion died too. Now Naomi and her two widowed daughters-in-law stand with emptiness without anything else in their life to hope for. Naomi decides to return to homeland, Judah. But she requests and insists that both her daughters-in-law, these young women widowed at this young age, should leave her and find a new life.
After a few attempts of convincing Orpah decides to return to her mother's house so that she could find a new life. But Ruth decides to stay with Naomi. She says, “Don’t beg me to leave you or to stop following you. Where you go, I will go. Where you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. And where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. I ask the Lord to punish me terribly if I do not keep this promise: Not even death will separate us.” (Ruth 01: 16, 17) Ruth chose the hard life instead of going into an easy new life as a young widow.
Ruth humbled herself and made herself available to reach the lowest levels of her life.
Ruth did not go searching for another marriage. Instead, she went searching for the way in which God was making things available for her. If it was the grain left behind by the workers at the harvest is what she was supposed to pick, she adhered to that. If it was the day's hot sun that she had to endure she was ready. If she had to rush to the fields in the morning without food, she was for it. If she had to starve throughout the day, carefully picking the grains, then she was at it.
The best part of Ruth's presence in this field was that, even after knowing that it was one of her relatives Boaz's field, she continued to be humble and kept doing what she was earlier doing. If you could continue to read the entire chapter, you would begin to love and admire Ruth and her humility in the midst of all the recognition and special care from Boaz. Ah! Look at her. When she was invited by Boaz to come and have lunch with them, she received it happily and ate until she was full. She even ate some leftovers. Diligently she got back to work and continued to work until evening. A young woman, who was so blessed with a husband in her land of Moab, is now humbling herself amongst the people whom she had chosen to live with, and this humility was God's way of reaching her. God brought blessings in Ruth's life in this most unexpected moment.
Called to be a Ruth
Today, what are our choices in life when the situations and environments around us become difficult, hardening and sorrowful? Do we align towards God's way or do we find the easiest path to run away from the suffering? Indeed, the path that Ruth chose was not easy. She had to bear it through the days and she kept her commitment to the choice she had made. She did not know where this choice was leading her but she was true to her choice. The beauty in Ruth's life was that she kept her commitment to the choice she had made even through the hardest and lowest moments in life. She kept to her integrity and humility. God took care of the rest. God met her with the choicest blessings at the right moment. I remember as a teenager, always contemplating on the title of Dr. Arul Anketell's book on Ruth - "God of Happy Endings." Yes, it is true. He is our God of happy endings. He ensures that our life is blessed through Him.
I pray that the blessings of our Father in Heaven, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the guidance of the Holy Spirit will help us to live a life that chooses God's way in the midst of all negatives and hard times. Let us continue to be true to this choice and to be humble in everything we do, so that when the right time comes, God will lift us and bless us abundantly with His wonderful blessings.
May God bless you.
Yours in Christ,
"Wait Upon the Lord"
