Ruth
April 17
Ruth 1:22, 2:1-10
Caring and being cared for
When Naomi and Ruth got to Bethlehem, the barley harvest was just starting. The women of the town recognized Naomi and welcomed her back.
One day Ruth said to Naomi, “Let me go to the fields to gather grain that has been dropped. I am sure someone will let me work with them.”
So Ruth went to a field and walked behind the reapers, picking up grain. She didn’t know that she was working in a field that belonged to Boaz, a rich relative of Naomi.
Boaz happened to arrive there some time later and when he saw Ruth he asked the workers about her. They told him that she had come from the land of Moab with Naomi and that she had worked in the field from early morning. Then Boaz went to talk to Ruth and told her not to gather grain from any other field except from his field.
Will God always provide for me?
Jesus said that we should not worry about our needs for tomorrow because our Heavenly Father has taken care of them already (Matthew 6:31-34). So does that mean we should not plan ahead, save up, or work for a living? Not at all! God wants us to live responsibly by planning for the future and working hard. In fact, Paul had some strong words for a group of Christians who had stopped working and become lazy: he told them to get back to work (2 Thessalonians 3:11-12).
Ruth worked hard every day to gather enough grain for Naomi and herself. Yet Ruth knew that it was God who had provided the good harvest, the field, the kind reapers and a caring owner.
Verse for today
Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Matthew 6:26