Be Encouraged

And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Please let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after one in whose sight I may find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.” So she departed and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers; and she happened to come to the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech. Ruth 2:2-3

I love the way Scripture records several things as having just “happened.” Here, Ruth just happens to pick Boaz’s field out of all of the fields around Bethlehem.

Often I am challenged from Scripture to step forward in a new strength, obeying more readily or acting more boldly. But, today I am challenged to simply be encouraged.

Sometimes it’s hard for me to receive encouragement. That seems crazy, but sometimes it is easier to remain in my discouragement or uncertainty than to reach out, receive encouragement, and walk in it confidently.

But then I read passages in Scripture where God’s people just happen into the perfect circumstance. Ruth didn’t happen to do anything. She was guided there by the hand of the amazing God who already knew His Son would directly descend from this woman. Every step was guided by Him, even that of Boaz so strongly noticing this young widow.

Nothing – absolutely nothing – just happens. God is in every detail. And today I will choose not only to remember that, but also to allow myself to be perfectly encouraged by it. His plan is perfect, and its unfolding is as beautiful as a love story between a farmer and a widow.