Our Steps Are Ordered!
One of the harder transitions in life is to leave the country of one's birth and migrate to a foreign land. There are a variety of reasons people emigrate, each has a story to tell, but common to most is the need for a better life, an expectant hope and future. When conditions are dire, a change of location becomes urgent and necessary. Elimelech, Naomi and their sons were one such family who when confronted by famine in Bethlehem, set out for Moab. Tragedy struck when Naomi lost her husband. Her two sons married Moabite women and lived in the land for ten years until both sons also died. A widowed Naomi and her daughters-in-law had to decide whether to remain in Moab or return to Bethlehem. A woman without a man had no social standing. Naomi chose to return to her home in Judah and encouraged Ruth and Orpah to return to their families. Orpah did but Ruth was determined to remain with Naomi, and to serve Naomi's God.

God's heart goes out especially to the defenseless, the marginalized; the voiceless, the orphan, the widow, the fatherless. These are the vulnerable of society as well as those who are impoverished and malnourished from within, spiritually disconnected and alienated. Lost, lonely and in lack. Scripture exhorts, "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to proclaim release to the captives, recovering of sight to the blind, to deliver those who are crushed" Luke 4:18. This is the holistic offering of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is inclusive healing, transforming and revolutionizes every aspect of our being. "You give power to the faint and to them who have no might you increase strength" (Isaiah 40:29)

It was the beginning of harvest time in Bethlehem when Naomi and Ruth arrived. A strategic time! Seizing the opportunity and exercising her right as a widow, Ruth gleaned the left over grain reserved especially for the widows and the poor from a field owned by a Godly man named Boaz. While Naomi was all embittered and despondent, Ruth took action. Ruth 2:3 "So she went out, entered a field and began to glean behind the harvesters" Ruth took three decisive, critical steps: She went out, She entered a field, she took her place! You have to go where the harvest is, harvest represents opportunity. To reap barley, Ruth had to position herself on a field of barley. She began to glean behind the harvesters; Ruth took her place, as a foreigner. Gleaning was reserved for the poor; it was an act of generosity that left some crops behind for them to collect. Just then Boaz came by! Was this coincidence? Boaz was a member of the clan of Elimelech - He noticed Ruth, her hard work, her beauty, and was instantly captivated by her. Boaz owned that field. "Why have I found such favour in your eyes that you notice me, a foreigner?" asked Ruth. Boaz replied, "I've been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband -how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before. May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge. ""May I continue to find favor in your eyes, my lord," she said. "You have put me at ease by speaking kindly to your servant-though I do not have the standing of one of your servants."

Remarkably and noticeably this was no haphazard encounter. It was God ordained, divinely conducted in the fullness of time. This is how God works, how He orchestrates people and places to effect the change and turn around in circumstances. With the odds against her as a foreigner God inclined the heart of Boaz toward Ruth to the extent that Boaz was captivated and enchanted by her actions, her example, her efforts and motivations, not to mention her beauty and charm. I love the way Boaz acknowledged and attributed the encounter to Gods redeeming Grace and Salvation, "May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!" How evocatively encouraging. Psalm 18:2 says, The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. What a compelling reminder. What a compelling promise.

Boaz married Ruth, they bore a son Obed. He was the father of Jesse, Jesse was father of David. Imagine the lineage of David, 'the shoot of Jesse' from which Jesus would ascend would have its beginnings, its roots from the redemptive union of Ruth and Boaz? Don't despise small beginnings, don't give up on your miracle, your turn around. Like Ruth God can elevate you from 'gleaning the fields' to owning it. He positions and places people of influence in your path, and what He orchestrates for you no man can hinder or frustrate. We step into destiny when we step out, enter in and possess!