Taking Life One Day at a Time

Scripture Reading

Ruth 2:2-8

2 And Ruth the Moabite 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.” 3 So she went out, entered a field and began to glean behind the harvesters. As it turned out, she was working in a field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelek.

4 Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, “The Lord be with you!”

“The Lord bless you!” they answered.

5 Boaz asked the overseer of his harvesters, “Who does that young woman belong to?”

6 The overseer replied, “She is the Moabite who came back from Moab with Naomi. 7 She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves behind the harvesters.’ She came into the field and has remained here from morning till now, except for a short rest in the shelter.”

8 So Boaz said to Ruth, “My daughter, listen to me. Don’t go and glean in another field and don’t go away from here. Stay here with the women who work for me.

Devotional

The book of Ruth may be a short book, but it has a lot in store for us. Ruth is a Moabite and the sister-in-law of Naomi who is from Bethlehem. Naomi finds herself a widow who not only lost her husband, but both of her sons. In the midst of immense grief and with no way to take care of herself, Naomi goes back to her homeland and encourages her daughters-in-law to go back to their homelands where they will have hopes of a better future. Ruth refuses to leave her side though and travels with her back to Bethlehem. This is where this scripture begins. Ruth needs to find a way to care for the both of them and decides to go to a field and see if anyone is nice enough to allow a foreigner pick up the scraps of grain leftover by the harvesters. If she had been an Israelite, she would’ve been protected under law which allowed foreigners, widows, and the poor to pick up scraps of wheat around the borders of a field. So, in her case, she is taking a risk by not only picking up the leftover wheat, but also by following the workers through the field. While she is working to pick up enough food for a couple days, the owner Boaz greets her and not only allows her to stay and pick up the leftover wheat, but he even ensures that she can do so safely by instructing her to stay with the women and later on in the chapter he warns the male workers to leave her be. She ends up collecting enough food for roughly two and a half weeks for her and Naomi.

What’s interesting about this story is that Ruth was just focused on the necessities of the day, finding food. And God guided her footsteps to Boaz’s field who extends to her the privileges of an Israelite and welcomes her to continue behind the harvesters. She had no way of knowing whose field it was, what conditions she would have to endure, only that she needed to find a way for her and Naomi to eat. But God used her situation to bless her far beyond what she had hoped. She walks away with protection and an abundance of food. If you continue to read into Chapter 3, you’ll find that Boaz is not only wealthy, but an extended family member of Naomi and he ends up marrying Ruth as was customary during that time.

So, how does this apply to our life? We can only see our current circumstance and needs, but God sees all. We take our lives one step at a time and he’s several steps ahead of us, clearing the way for a future so much better than we could have imagined. In life we never will see the full picture like what God sees, all we need to do is take life one step at a time, trust God, and know that His plans are so much greater than we could ever imagine. Today, you may find yourself unemployed and at the point where you’re willing to take just about anything for work even though it’s not enough to pay your bills. You may be suffering from an illness and are clinging on to just a few scraps of hope because only God can pull you out of your situation. Maybe you’re struggling to figure out where God wants you to go with your life or what your calling may be. Maybe you’re struggling mentally and emotionally and the only thing keeping you together is the profound certainty in God. No matter what your situation may be, this scripture in Ruth is telling you to take it one day at a time. Matthew 11:28-30 says:

28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

God will be with you every step of the way. He doesn’t say your load will not exist, he promises to help you through life and guide you along the way. You know, when Ruth walked into a random wheat field, she didn’t know what would happen, she was only focused on finding food. But, Ruth chapters 3 and 4 reveals that God had much greater plans that not only included a secure future for her and Naomi, but Ruth would become part of Jesus’ lineage through Boaz. God’s plans are a mystery to us, but he will never hesitate to open up his storehouse and bless us abundantly in the ways we need it most, we just need to take it one day at a time. Let’s pray.

Prayer

Father God, thank you for being a God who has made great plans for us and meets us exactly where we are, even it’s in the middle of a wheat field. Thank you for promising to help us carry the loads in our life. Today, I give you all the things that are burdening me that I know I cannot control. I want to leave them at the alter for you to do what only you can do. I praise you for each day and I can’t wait to see what plans you have for my future. In Jesus’ name, Amen.