On the surface it would appear that Ruth is a story about survival, but it is so much more. It is a story about overcoming adversity, patience, endurance and most importantly the providence of God. In his summary of the book of Ruth, Michael Whitworth writes:
“As I said before, providence is an odd thing. Just when you think that God has stopped working on your behalf, something happens to humble you and convict you that you have been on the Lord’s mind all along” (Bethlehem Road).
Ruth is a story about hope for the downtrodden. At times, all of us will find ourselves on a “Bethlehem Road” (as Whitworth describes it), a time when we are returning defeated. It is during those times that we must stay strong and trust in the providence of a loving God to see us through. We never know what events God may be orchestrating in our lives.
The suffering that you may be going through right now, may be something that God is using for your benefit. The seemingly random events in our lives might be God wondrously working out His will for us. God is still working today, we just often don’t recognize it in our own lives until after the fact.
Take a moment to reflect on the good that God has wrought in your life…and say “thank you”. Also, if your life is not going so well at the moment, trust that God can still orchestrate His will for your benefit.
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” (James 1:17)