After a night out with friends, David Brown, an Englishman, woke up with a series of random numbers in his head. After trying to figure what those numbers meant, he sent a text message using those numbers. In the message, he asked, “Did I meet you last night?” The recipient was a confused Michelle Kitson, who lived just 60 miles from Brown. They had NOT met the night before, but over time, they would meet. In fact, five years after he sent that first text message, the two got married.
“She really is the girl of my dreams,” Brown says. (“It wasn't all bad,” The Week, 5-4-07; www.PreachingToday.com)
It’s amazing how stuff just happens, or does it? If you know the Lord, you know that just isn’t true. God is always at work behind the scenes to accomplish His good and perfect will, even when you have no idea what’s going on.
Naomi and Ruth, two widow ladies in the Old Testament discovered that to be true for them. They had lost their husbands and their sole means of support. They had no jobs, no family to care for them, and no access to food stamps or a medical card. They were living in Bethlehem, forced to scrounge for leftover grain in fields that were just harvested.
And yet, God was at work behind the scenes to provide in unbelievable ways. If you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to Ruth 2, Ruth 2, where we see how God worked for them, and how He wants to work for you and me today.
Ruth 2:1 Now Naomi had a relative of her husband’s, a worthy man [lit., a mighty man, a hero] of the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. (ESV)
We’re introduced to Boaz early, because he is going to play a significant part in Ruth’s life, though Ruth doesn’t know it yet. In fact, at this point, Ruth doesn’t even know Boaz exists, but WE know. He is one of Israel’s heroes, and he just happens to be a close relative.
Ruth 2:2 And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.” (ESV)
Ruth wants to find a friendly harvester and pick up the leftover grain. Though she’s poor, she’s no slouch. She is a woman of character, not expecting any handouts. Instead, she is willing to work hard in the hot sun all day in order to provide for herself and her mother-in-law.
Ruth 2:3 So she set out and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers, and she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the clan of Elimelech. (ESV)
Literally, her hap happened, or her chance chanced, as she came to Boaz’ field. From Ruth’s perspective, one field was just as good as another. She was walking down the road, trying to figure out which field to glean in. She looked to the left. She looked to the right, and just decided, “I guess I’ll go this way.” She just happened to end up in a certain field. That was Ruth’s perspective. From God’s perspective, He led her to the place HE wanted her to be. God led her to the place where she would be blessed beyond measure.
Donald Gray Barnhouse once said, “It is our business to see that we DO right; God will see that we come OUT right” (Leadership¸ Vol.1, No.2).
And that’s exactly what happened to Ruth. She wasn’t looking for a husband. She wasn’t looking for wealth or fame. All she wanted to do was take care of her mother-in-law. She concerned herself with what WAS right, and God saw to it that she came OUT right.
God directed her steps, and God will direct your steps, as well.
Tullian Tchividjian talks about dealing with the pain of his parents’ unexpected divorce. He went to see Larry Crabb, a Christian counselor, who asked him, “How's your mom and dad doing?”
Tchividjian replied, “Larry, I don't know what to do. Seriously. I feel like my whole world has been turned upside down. I don't get this. It's excruciating.”
Larry could see that he was trapped in the prison of Why, banging he head against the bars. He said, “Tullian, listen to me: The ‘why’ is none of your concern. This is not your burden to fix or figure out. You are not responsible for your parents' relationship or their reputation, or even your own reputation. Those are in God's hands, and his ways are his, not ours. When it comes to God's will, the sooner you can get out of the conjecture business, the better. If you don't go to your grave confused, you don't go to your grave trusting. Painful as it is, this situation gives you an opportunity to show them grace, to love them in their brokenness in a new way. Which is precisely what Jesus has done for you and continues to do for you.” (Tullian Tchividjian, Glorious Ruin, David C. Cook, 2012, pp. 122-123; www.PreachingToday.com)
That’s good advice for all of us no matter what hardship we face. Stop trying to figure out the “WHY?” Stop trying to fix things. Put it in God’s hands and just love people as Jesus loves you. Concern yourself with doing what IS right, and let God see to it that you come OUT right.
In 1943, a young pastor was offered the opportunity to take over a popular Gospel Radio program called Songs in the Night. Since the cost of keeping the program on air was rather high, the pastor, who had a large vision to reach people with the gospel, told his board that he would be willing to forgo part of his salary to help defray the costs involved. The suggestion was eventually accepted by the board.
The young pastor then approached a well-known Gospel singer, requesting him to sing and lead the choir on the program. After initially trying to back out, the singer eventually agreed to help out. That decision would change the course of his life and ministry forever! He later said, “It was the beginning – the humble beginning – of an unbelievable journey... It was exciting to be a part of something wonderful unfolding.”
The Gospel singer was George Beverly Shea and the young pastor's name was Billy Graham. (George Beverly Shea with Fred Bauer, Then Sings My Soul, Fleming Revell, 1968; www. PreachingToday.com)
It’s amazing how God leads when you just do what God places before you.
John Piper put it this way: Life is not a straight line leading from one blessing to the next and then finally to heaven. Life is a winding and troubled road. Switchback after switchback. And the point of biblical stories like... Ruth is to help us feel in our bones (not just know in our heads) that God is for us in all these strange turns. God is not just showing up after the trouble and cleaning it up. He is plotting the course and managing the troubles with far-reaching purposes for our good and for the glory of Jesus Christ (John Piper, A Sweet and Bitter Providence, Crossway Books & Bibles, 2010, pp.101-102; www.PreachingToday.com)
The Bible says, “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps” (Proverbs 16:9). There are no “coincidences” in a believer’s life. God is always at work, directing the steps of your life. So…
TRUST GOD FOR DIRECTION.
Trust Him to direct YOUR steps. Trust Him to arrange the circumstances of YOUR life. Don’t worry about trying to FIND God’s will. Just DO what you know to be right, and God will make sure you come OUT right. So trust Him for direction. More than that…
TRUST GOD FOR PROTECTION.
Depend on the Lord to keep you safe. Rely on Him to keep you from any real harm. That’s what Ruth did.
Ruth 2:4-5 And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem. And he said to the reapers, “The LORD be with you!” And they answered, “The LORD bless you.” Then Boaz said to his young man who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?” (ESV)
Is he going to kick Ruth out of his field? Or is it love at first sight?
Ruth 2:6-7 And the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered, “She is the young Moabite woman, who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the reapers.’ So she came, and she has continued from early morning until now, except for a short rest.” (ESV)
She’s been working all morning, except for a short break in the middle of the morning.
Ruth 2:8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Now, listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women. (ESV)
Boaz wants her to stay!
Ruth 2:9 Let your eyes be on the field that they are reaping, and go after them. Have I not charged the young men not to touch you [literally, not to strike you]? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn.”
Evidently, the harvesters often mistreated the gleaners. They would shout insults at them; and if they got too close, they might hit them sometimes to keep them back: “Get out of here, you dirty, filthy scum.” But here, Boaz gave his servants strict orders not to even touch Ruth, and he even allowed her to drink the same water they did. This has gone way beyond the normal social customs of his day, and it was certainly much more than Ruth ever expected, especially since she was a foreigner.
Ruth 2;10-12 Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?” But Boaz answered her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told to me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before. The LORD repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!” (ESV)
Ruth had decided that Naomi’s God would be her God. She sought shelter under His care, and she found a whole lot more!
Ruth 2:13 Then she said, “I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, for you have comforted me and spoken kindly to your servant, though I am not one of your servants.” (ESV)
Ruth found her protection. She found her safety and security in the providence of God, and that’s where you find it too. All you need to do is trust Him. All you need to do is seek your refuge in Him like Ruth did.
A little over 10 years ago (2009), Somali pirates, off the coast of south Africa, were attacking cargo ships and holding them for ransom. Many ships and their crews were severely delayed or even lost at sea.
At that time, Mark Wilson was learning the ropes for his new job as logistics coordinator the Africa Inland Mission (AIM). The mission used the Somali shipping lanes to send supplies and equipment to missionaries working in Africa.
One day, Mark received a phone call offering a supply of free Band-Aids for the missionaries in Africa. Mark gladly accepted, but he forgot to ask just how many Band-Aids would be coming his way. “I am always looking for ways to fill ocean containers,” he said. “[But] I realized my mistake when the second UPS truck full of Band-aids arrived.”
Soon after, Mark supervised the packing of an ocean container carrying valuable equipment and other supplies intended for AIM's missionaries. When there was a little bit of room left over, he filled in the extra space with as many of the Band-Aids as he could. He thought nothing more about them after that—just a bit of filler material that could be useful for missionaries in need of medical supplies.
But after the equipment and supplies were delivered, Mark learned that God had a different goal in mind for what he considered to be a bit of a nuisance.
Mark heard that the ship carrying AIM's ocean container had been hijacked by pirates—they even broke into the crate containing the valuable equipment meant for the missionaries. But when they saw nothing but piles of Band-Aids, the pirates moved on. The equipment was unnoticed and arrived safely in the hands of the people who needed it to continue advancing the kingdom of God.
Looking back, Mark was blown away at the clear protection and direction offered by God. “I stand amazed at the faithfulness of God,” he says, “even in what I would consider my mistakes.” (“Piracy Staved Off By Timely Band-Aids,” Mission Network News, 5-4-09; www.PreachingToday.com)
Isn’t God amazing!? He uses even our mistakes to accomplish His purposes, and nothing can separate us from His love – “not tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword” (Romans 8:35).
So trust God for direction. Trust God for protection. And #3…
TRUST GOD FOR PROVISION.
Depend on the Lord to meet your needs. Rely on Him for your daily bread. God provided for Ruth.
Ruth 2:14 And at mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come here and eat some bread and dip your morsel in the wine.” So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed to her roasted grain. And she ate until she was satisfied, and she had some left over. (ESV)
Usually, gleaners were left to fend for themselves; but here, Boaz feeds her from his own table, and she has more than enough!
Ruth 2:15 When she rose to glean, Boaz instructed his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her. (ESV)
Gleaners were allowed to come AFTER the reapers; but here, Boaz allows Ruth to glean AMONG the reapers.
Ruth 2:16 And also pull out some from the bundles for her and leave it for her to glean, and do not rebuke her.” (ESV)
He tells the servants to purposefully drop some grain for Ruth to pick up.
Ruth 2:17 So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley. (ESV)
That’s about 30 pounds, or 5 gallons, of barley, enough food for 10 days! Never had a gleaner done so well in one day! Usually, they were lucky to get enough food for one day.
Ruth 2:18-20 And she took it up and went into the city. Her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. She also brought out and gave her what food she had left over after being satisfied. And her mother-in-law said to her, “Where did you glean today? And where have you worked? Blessed be the man who took notice of you.” So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked and said, “The man’s name with whom I worked today is Boaz.” And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by the LORD, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!” Naomi also said to her, “The man is a close relative of ours, one of our redeemers.” (ESV)
The Hebrew word is goel. Now, in Bible days, every family had a goel, a kinsman-redeemer, whose job it was to take care of the family. For example, if you had to sell your land or yourself into slavery in order to pay your bills, it was the goel’s job to buy you or your land back, so it could stay in the family. The goel also avenged the death of any family member; and f a man died in the family without any children, the goel might marry the widow in order to raise up children in that man’s name.
Well, Boaz was the goel for Naomi’s family, and that meant they were going to be well cared for. Miraculously, God led Ruth to the only man in Israel, who had the obligation, as well as the resources to care for her and her mother-in-law.
Ruth 2:21-23 And Ruth the Moabite said, “Besides, he said to me, ‘You shall keep close by my young men until they have finished all my harvest.’ ” And Naomi said to Ruth, her daughter-in-law, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, lest in another field you be assaulted.” So she kept close to the young women of Boaz, gleaning until the end of the barley and wheat harvests. And she lived with her mother-in-law. (ESV)
Ruth worked 4 to 6 weeks, through the barley harvest and the wheat harvest; and no doubt, she prospered as much as she did that first day.
God more than met her needs, and He will do the same for you, as well.
You see, in Christ, God has already provided a Goel, a Kinsman-redeemer, just like He did for Naomi and Ruth. His name is Jesus, and by His death on the cross, He paid the price for your freedom from sin. He also, on that same cross, defeated the evil one who came only to steal, kill and destroy you. And finally, when you put your trust in Him, Jesus put you in His church, which the Bible describes as His bride.
Oh, the riches we have in Christ! Philippians 4:19 says, “My God will supply every need of yours according to HIS riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Not OUT OF His riches in glory, but ACCORDING TO His riches in glory.
Howard Hendricks used to tell the story of a man in Dallas who sold his business at a loss to go into the ministry. As a result, things got rather tight for him and his family. He had four children, and one night during family devotions, the youngest boy, Timmy, said, “Daddy, do you think Jesus would mind if I asked Him for a shirt?”
“Well, no, of course not. Let’s write that down in our prayer request book, Mother.”
So she wrote down, “Shirt for Timmy,” and she added, “Size seven.” Every day after that, Timmy made sure they prayed for that shirt. Then, several weeks later, on a Saturday, the mother received a telephone call from a clothes store owner in downtown Dallas. He was a Christian businessman, and he said, “I’ve just finished my July clearance sale, and knowing you have four boys, it occurred to me that you might use something we have left. Could you use some boy’s shirts?”
She responded, “What size?”
“Size seven.”
Hesitantly, she asked, “How many do you have?”
He said, “Twelve.”
Now, instead of just taking the shirts and stuffing them into the boy’s drawer, she hid them. Then that night, as expected, Timmy said, “Don’t forget, Mommy, let’s pray for the shirt.”
That’s when Mommy said, “Timmy, we don’t have to pray for the shirt.”
“How come?”
“The Lord has answered your prayer.”
“He has?”
“That’s right. He has!”
That’s when Tommy, Timmy’s big brother, goes out, as previously arranged, and gets one shirt, brings it in, and puts it down on the table. Little Timmy’s eyes are like saucers. Then Tommy goes out and gets another shirt and brings it in. Out, back, out, back… until he piles 12 shirts on the table, and Timmy thinks God is going into the shirt business. (Howard Hendricks, Say It with Love)
God loves being generous with His people, so trust Him. Trust Him for direction. Trust Him for protection, and trust Him for provision.
Someone once described their relationship with God like riding a tandem, two-seater bike. At first, God was in the back, helping him pedal. Then, at some point, God and he switched places.
“I don’t know just when it was that God suggested we change places,” the man said, “but life has not been the same since – life with God, that is. He makes it exciting!”
“And when He took the lead, it was all I could do to hang on! He knew delightful paths, up mountains and through rocky places – and at breakneck speeds. Even though it looked like madness, he said, ‘Pedal!’
“I worried and was anxious and asked, ‘Where are you taking me?’ He laughed and didn’t answer, and I started to learn trust.
“I forgot my boring life and entered into adventure. When I’d say, ‘I’m scared,’ He’d lean back and touch my hand.
“He took me to people with gifts that I needed, gifts of healing, acceptance, and joy. They gave me their gifts to take on my journey, our journey, God’s and mine.
“And we were off again. He said, ‘Give the gifts away; they’re extra baggage, too much weight.’ So I did, to the people we met, and I found that in giving, I received, and our burden became light.
“At first, I did not trust Him in control of my life. I thought He’d wreck it. But He knows bike secrets – know how to make it lean to take sharp corners, dodge large rocks, and speed through scary passages.
“And I am learning to shut up and pedal in the strangest places. I’m beginning to enjoy the view and the cool breeze on my face with my Delightful, Constant Companion.
“And when I’m sure I just can’t do anymore, He just smiles and says, ‘Pedal!’” (James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited, pp.247-248)
Tell me, where is God in your life? Is He even on the bike? If not, then invite Him into your life and put Him on the front seat. Trust Him with your life, and let Him have full control. Then enjoy the ride!
