Right Field

Right Field

Ruth

Read: Ruth 2:3-18

Help, Lord! Farrah silently prayed as she boarded the plane. She just realized that she left her papers in the taxi. She desperately needed the address of her new apartment and the name and phone number of the contact person from her new company. Three hours later, on the plane, Farrah had made friends with a secretary from her new company—who lived in Farrah’s apartment building. Farrah knew it wasn’t coincidence that had put her in that particular airplane seat.

It wasn’t coincidence that led Ruth to one of Boaz’s fields, either. As a close relative of Elimelech, Boaz appreciated Ruth’s loyalty to Naomi and admired her willingness to work hard. Boaz greeted Ruth warmly and invited her to work alongside his servant girls for the entire harvest season. She wouldn’t have to wait until a field had been harvested to move in, as the other gleaners did, and she wouldn’t have to draw her own water. Boaz had even instructed his men to be respectful to her. Such special treatment must have overwhelmed Ruth.

Coincidence doesn’t exist for God’s children. Although he allows us choices, he controls every area of our lives. God puts us into just the right places and circumstances that will help us to become more like Christ and to bless other people by our faith. Sometimes he directs us to just the right Bible verse we need for our situation. At other times, he guides us to the perfect person or resource that will meet our need.

If we turn away from God’s leading, we will wander away from his plan for our lives. But when we do our best to obey his commands and follow his Spirit’s guidance, he will lead us back to where we need to be. We don’t want to let sin lead us way out into left field; we want to be like Ruth and stay in the right field.

The LORD directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.

Psalm 37:23