Can I pray for you in any way?
Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.
In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
Now Naomi had a relative on her husband's side, from the clan of Elimelech, a man of standing, whose name was Boaz.
And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, "Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain behind anyone in whose eyes I find favor."
Naomi said to her, "Go ahead, my daughter."
So she went out and began to glean in the fields behind the harvesters. As it turned out, she found herself working in a field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelech.
Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, "The Lord be with you!"
"The Lord bless you!" they called back.
Ruth 2:1-4
This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
At the end of Ruth, chapter 1, we saw where Naomi and Ruth had arrived back in Bethlehem, a town in the Israelite region of Judah. You’ll recall that they had returned there from Moab because Naomi had heard how the Lord had provided His people with food in the midst of a terrible famine that had struck the land.
So once in Bethlehem, we see chapter 2 beginning with Ruth asking permission from Naomi to “go to the fields” so to “pick up” the “leftover grain” from “behind anyone in whose eyes” she would “find favor." Known as gleaning, this process was popular in Old Testament times as those who were less fortunate and struggling for food to eat would be allowed to collect grain, fruit, or vegetables that had been left behind by harvesters. In the case of Ruth, the scriptures tell us that she was targeting leftover grain.
Now we read where Naomi still had family in Bethlehem, ”a relative on her husband's side from the clan of Elimelech” who was “a man of standing” by the name of Boaz. And after Naomi gave Ruth her consent to go to the fields, we see where she “went out and began to glean in the fields behind the harvesters”. We should note that she didn’t look for any specific field that was owned by a certain person. A Moabite, she was a complete stranger in Bethlehem and so she simply looked for a good place to glean to provide food for herself and Naomi.
Well, as it turned out, Ruth “found herself working in a field belonging to Boaz”…yes, the same Boaz who was Naomi’s relative “from the clan of Elimelech”, her deceased husband. We further learn that Boaz was a man of the Lord for he greets his harvesters by saying:
"The Lord be with you!"
To which they replied:
“The Lord bless you!"
Indeed, the Lord was blessing Ruth and she even wasn’t aware of it yet.
Now, one could maybe say that Ruth ended up in the field of Boaz simply by luck but when it comes to God, we know He doesn’t operate on the principle of chance, does He? No, God had Ruth right where He wanted her to be…and the same applied to Boaz as we will see.
Friends, this is something we all need to remember for our Lord does the same with us. He puts us where He wants us to be so He can carry out His will in our lives...in, through, and around us.
Indeed, we never need to worry whether we are in the right place in the right time. We only need to submit our lives fully to the Lord, allowing Him to lead and guide us. For when we do this, we can always rest assured we’ll never be going in the wrong direction because we’ll be moving as He wants us to move to do what He wants us to do.
Speaking for myself, this is what makes so very exciting every day. For although I have no idea what any day holds, I do know that God holds my future in His hands, now and forever. I am in His hands and care every second of every minute of every hour of every day in God’s hands and this assurance keeps me knowing and trusting He’ll fill my days with His will, way, and purpose.
Given that, I can always look back at the end of the day and give thanks and praise, no matter what has happened, because He was walked with me through it all. Often times, that praise is around good things I have been able to do for others after He put me in position to do so, using an ordinary person like me to do something extraordinary in His name.
As I close, my hope is that you can see God moving in the same rhythm in your life, all because you surrendered your life to Him so He could put you where He wanted you to be, to do what He wanted you to do. For it’s there…in that place…that we find the true joy and value in this life as we continue to step toward the eternal one yet to come.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.
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