God's Providence

After their husbands’ deaths, despite Naomi’s plea for her daughters-in-law to stay in Moab, their homeland, Ruth left everything familiar to follow Naomi back to her hometown, Bethlehem (Ruth 1:16). Destitute, Ruth humbly worked in the field of Boaz gleaning after the harvesters; their survival depended on what she gathered. Boaz took notice of Ruth’s diligence: “The Lord recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust” (Ruth 2:12). God honored her efforts. She came to know, love, and serve Naomi’s God—Ruth was the great-grandmother of King David and one of the few women named in the genealogy of Jesus.

How diligent are we to glean from God’s Word, even tiny morsels, for the nourishment of our daily walk as Christians? Our spiritual well-being depends on what we gather. The only bending needed is to bend our will, a willingness to humble ourselves before God as needy to hear from Him. His truths are not few and scattered but lay in abundance before us in the Bible, ready for gathering and sustaining our hungry souls.