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?
We’ll never know all the times His unseen hand built a hedge around us.
But we can be sure of this: grace doesn’t just invite you in — it guards you once you’re there.
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Scene Four — Overwhelmed by kindness
Ruth drops to her knees.
> “Why have I found such favor in your eyes, that you notice me — a foreigner?” (v.10)
It’s the sound of someone who can’t quite believe she belongs.
And Boaz answers,
> “I’ve been told all about what you’ve done for your mother-in-law… May the Lord reward you richly.”
He sees her faithfulness.
He recognizes her quiet, steady character.
Boaz blesses her — not because of what she offers him, but because of what she’s already given away.
He invites her to eat with the harvesters.
She sits among them, eats roasted grain, and the text says,
> “She ate all she wanted and had some left over.” (v.14)
In one day, Ruth moves from begging for scraps to having leftovers.
That’s grace — more than enough.
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Illustration — God’s misdial
I think back to that evening in Iskenderun — the job offer that arrived in an accidental conversation.
No résumé, no interview, no plan — just ice cream by the sea.
And I remember how many times God has “misdialed” on purpose in my life — arranging things I couldn’t have planned if I tried.
If you’ve walked with Him long enough, you probably have your own “as it turned out” stories too.
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Scene Five — Naomi’s awakening hope
When Ruth comes home with thirty pounds of grain on her back, Naomi’s eyes widen.
> “Where did you glean today? Blessed be the man who took notice of you!”
And when Ruth says the name Boaz, something stirs deep within Naomi.
The woman who once called herself “bitter” suddenly speaks blessing again:
> “The Lord bless him! He has not stopped showing kindness to the living and the dead.” (v.20)
Naomi’s faith begins to thaw.
Hope starts breathing again in that little house in Bethlehem.
God’s grace is contagious — it spreads from one heart to another.
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Reflection pause
Whose hope might God want to reignite through your faithfulness?
Sometimes your obedience today becomes someone else’s reason to believe tomorrow.
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Scene Six — The quiet rhythm of grace
Verse 23 closes softly:
> “So Ruth stayed close to the servant girls of Boaz to glean until the barley and wheat harvests were finished.”
No fireworks. No wedding bells. Not yet.
Just a steady season of daily provision.
Grace doesn’t always arrive with drama. Sometimes it looks like consistency — the faithfulness of a God who keeps showing up in your everyday.
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Illustration — The slow sunrise
The night gives way to morning, not in a flash, but in gradual light. You don’t notice it until suddenly you realize — the darkness is gone.
That’s what’s happening in Ruth 2.
The first faint light of redemption is beginning to shine.
It’s subtle. It’s quiet. But it’s real.
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Pastoral appeal — Stay in the field
Maybe you’re in a season where you feel unseen — you’re doing what’s right, but it feels like no one notices.
You wonder if you’re in the right place, or if your small acts of faith even matter.
Let Ruth’s story remind you: God sees you.
You’re not in the wrong field. You’re in the right one — even if you don’t know it yet.
So stay in the field. Keep gleaning. Keep showing up.
The Lord of the harvest is watching over you.
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Closing encouragement
When Ruth went out that morning, she didn’t know she’d meet Boaz.
She didn’t know she’d bring home thirty pounds of grain.
She didn’t know she’d become part of a royal lineage.
She just knew she had to go somewhere and do something.
And as it turned out, God was already waiting for her there.
Maybe that’s your story too.
Maybe the thing that feels small today is part of a providence you’ll only understand later.
So keep walking, keep trusting, keep gleaning —
and one day, you’ll look back and say with Ruth,
> “As it turned out… the Lord was there all along.
