"Behind every bitter providence is a smiling heavenly Father that is working to bring about your good and His glory."
The entire book of Ruth pictures this truth so well. It is the story of a Hebrew woman, Naomi, who had suffered through famine, living in a foreign land, losing her husband, her sons' marriages to Moabite wives, their ten years of barrenness (no grand children), and then the deaths of both of her sons. Naomi had left her homeland "full, but the Lord has brought me back empty!" as she explained to her relatives and friends when she returned to the land of Judah. "The Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me!" She felt as if she was filled only with the sorrows of life, but the rest of the book unfolds the wonderful workings of God on her behalf, as He showed her that He was not finished with her!
In all her bitter tragedies, Naomi failed to see the glimmers of God's mercy that were springing up all around her. She and her family had left Judah in the first place because of a famine, and had gone to Moab because there was food there. But now the Lord had ended the famine in Judah, and she returns just as the barley harvest was beginning. And she wasn't really empty or alone after all. God had given her a daughter-in-law (Ruth) who was fiercely committed to staying by Naomi's side, vowing that the only thing that could pry her away was death itself. Beyond that, God's mercy glimmers again in the amazing conversion of Ruth who wasn't just following Naomi, but had more importantly embraced the one true God and was following Him.
All of these things had not "just happened", but were clearly God's hand at work. There's more... the Lord provides food for these two lonely widows, and a relative who, according to the custom of the Hebrews could still redeem the family land, and with Ruth (an available widow) thrown into the equation, could raise up another generation to carry on the family name. Boaz, the kinsman redeemer, wasn't just anybody, but was a godly man, and a rich one to boot! These amazing proofs of God's answer to their needs turns Naomi's bitter heart, and she finally confesses that "..the Lord...has not withdrawn his kindness to the living and to the dead."
Of course, God's plans are always way bigger than just deliverance from our trials, painful though they may be. Woven through the tragedies of this one Hebrew family, God was bringing forth the long-awaited Messiah, in whom all the families of the earth would be blessed! The union of Boaz and Ruth produced Obed, then Jesse, then King David, whose throne would forever be established through his descendent, the Lord Jesus Christ! The seemingly insignificant lives of Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz were being orchestrated in an amazing way to bring God glory and carry out His great plan. They probably didn't have an inkling of the great importance of each providential event that God arranged.
How grateful we should be that the Lord never abandons His children. How humbled we should be that the majestic Creator who sits enthroned above the heavens stoops to hear the cries of his discouraged and hurting people. How hopeful we should continue to be, even in the darkest trials! Our God is not finished, but will bring comfort and deliverance, and His plan for redeeming sinful man will go forth to completion!
The entire book of Ruth pictures this truth so well. It is the story of a Hebrew woman, Naomi, who had suffered through famine, living in a foreign land, losing her husband, her sons' marriages to Moabite wives, their ten years of barrenness (no grand children), and then the deaths of both of her sons. Naomi had left her homeland "full, but the Lord has brought me back empty!" as she explained to her relatives and friends when she returned to the land of Judah. "The Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me!" She felt as if she was filled only with the sorrows of life, but the rest of the book unfolds the wonderful workings of God on her behalf, as He showed her that He was not finished with her!
In all her bitter tragedies, Naomi failed to see the glimmers of God's mercy that were springing up all around her. She and her family had left Judah in the first place because of a famine, and had gone to Moab because there was food there. But now the Lord had ended the famine in Judah, and she returns just as the barley harvest was beginning. And she wasn't really empty or alone after all. God had given her a daughter-in-law (Ruth) who was fiercely committed to staying by Naomi's side, vowing that the only thing that could pry her away was death itself. Beyond that, God's mercy glimmers again in the amazing conversion of Ruth who wasn't just following Naomi, but had more importantly embraced the one true God and was following Him.
All of these things had not "just happened", but were clearly God's hand at work. There's more... the Lord provides food for these two lonely widows, and a relative who, according to the custom of the Hebrews could still redeem the family land, and with Ruth (an available widow) thrown into the equation, could raise up another generation to carry on the family name. Boaz, the kinsman redeemer, wasn't just anybody, but was a godly man, and a rich one to boot! These amazing proofs of God's answer to their needs turns Naomi's bitter heart, and she finally confesses that "..the Lord...has not withdrawn his kindness to the living and to the dead."
Of course, God's plans are always way bigger than just deliverance from our trials, painful though they may be. Woven through the tragedies of this one Hebrew family, God was bringing forth the long-awaited Messiah, in whom all the families of the earth would be blessed! The union of Boaz and Ruth produced Obed, then Jesse, then King David, whose throne would forever be established through his descendent, the Lord Jesus Christ! The seemingly insignificant lives of Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz were being orchestrated in an amazing way to bring God glory and carry out His great plan. They probably didn't have an inkling of the great importance of each providential event that God arranged.
How grateful we should be that the Lord never abandons His children. How humbled we should be that the majestic Creator who sits enthroned above the heavens stoops to hear the cries of his discouraged and hurting people. How hopeful we should continue to be, even in the darkest trials! Our God is not finished, but will bring comfort and deliverance, and His plan for redeeming sinful man will go forth to completion!
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