Coincidence Or Providence Series

Introduction — Ice Cream by the Mediterranean

My three boys, Liz, and I were trying to cool off one evening, walking alongside the Mediterranean in the town of Iskenderun, Türkiye.

We’d been sent there to do mission work in the region. But there was a small problem: our tourist visas were about to expire, and unless I found employment, we couldn’t stay in the country.

There’s nothing quite like a bowl of ice cream to lift your spirits when life feels uncertain. So we stopped at a seaside café, ordered a few bowls, and took in the scenery — the salt air, the soft hum of Turkish conversation, the laughter of families on a Saturday night.

And then, as we were eating, a man from a neighboring table turned and asked in polite but direct English, “Are you new here?”

We told him we’d just arrived. He nodded thoughtfully and said, “Would you like to teach for us?”

Sitting next to him, it turned out, was the principal and English teacher from a private school in town. Their scheduled native English instructor had suddenly returned to England, and they were desperate to fill the position.

We hadn’t gone out that evening looking for work. We’d gone out for ice cream.

But as it turned out, God had a plan already waiting for us — at the next table.

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Transition — When “just so happens” isn’t just chance

Have you ever looked back on an event and thought, “That was no accident”?

The older I get, the more I believe that God often arranges the most important moments of our lives in ways that seem casual — until later.

That’s exactly what’s happening in Ruth chapter 2.

Ruth isn’t praying for a miracle. She’s just looking for work — or in her case, a field. But as it turned out, she steps into the story of redemption.

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Scene One — The courage to show up

> “Now Naomi had a relative on her husband’s side, a man of standing from the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz.” (v.1)

The narrator tells us what Ruth doesn’t know yet: Boaz will be the answer to her emptiness.

But from Ruth’s point of view, she’s simply trying to survive.

> “Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain behind anyone in whose eyes I find favor.” (v.2)

She’s not waiting for opportunity to come knocking; she’s out looking.

That’s what faith sometimes looks like — showing up with an empty basket.

Ruth doesn’t know what field she’ll end up in. She doesn’t know anyone in town. She just goes — quietly, humbly, faithfully.

You and I often want God to light up the whole road before we take the first step.

But Ruth shows us that sometimes grace meets us after we start walking.

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Reflection pause

Have you ever done something small — made a phone call, filled out a form, showed up somewhere — and later realized how much it changed your life?

Sometimes providence doesn’t look like an angelic visitation; it looks like a decision you almost didn’t make.

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Scene Two — As it turned out

Verse 3 says:

> “As it turned out, she was working in a field belonging to Boaz.”

There’s no trumpet fanfare, no miracle, no burning bush — just a quiet turn of phrase: “As it turned out.”

From earth’s view, coincidence.

From heaven’s view, coordination.

That’s the mystery of grace: God’s providence hides inside ordinary events.

It’s the phone call that wasn’t meant for you.

The flight you almost missed.

The person you sat beside who changed your story.

And Ruth — a poor, widowed foreigner — just happens to walk into Boaz’s field.

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Scene Three — The man of grace

Boaz enters the story like a sunrise breaking the night.

> “The Lord be with you!” he greets his workers.

“The Lord bless you!” they reply.

His first words are a benediction.

Imagine a workplace where the boss opens the morning with that kind of spirit!

Then he notices Ruth.

> “Whose young woman is that?”

Boaz sees what others overlook — the one gleaning at the edges.

Grace has a way of doing that.

It sees the unnoticed, the vulnerable, the outsider.

When he learns who she is, he goes straight to her:

> “Don’t go and glean in another field… stay here with my servant girls. I’ve told the men not to touch you.” (vv.8–9)

He gives her safety, belonging, and dignity — things no law required him to provide.

That’s what divine kindness looks like. It goes beyond the rulebook.

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Reflection pause

How many times has God shielded you from harm you didn’t even know was near?

How often has He surrounded you with grace you couldn’t see at the time?