Day 11: Ruth 2:14-18 - So Ruth gleaned in the field until evening

14 At mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come over here. Have some bread and dip it in the wine vinegar.”
When she sat down with the harvesters, he offered her some roasted grain. She ate all she wanted and had some left over. 15 As she got up to glean, Boaz gave orders to his men, “Let her gather among the sheaves and don’t reprimand her. 16 Even pull out some stalks for her from the bundles and leave them for her to pick up, and don’t rebuke her.”
17 So Ruth gleaned in the field until evening. Then she threshed the barley she had gathered, and it amounted to about an ephah. 18 She carried it back to town, and her mother-in-law saw how much she had gathered. Ruth also brought out and gave her what she had left over after she had eaten enough.

Ruth continues to work hard for her family. Boaz is behind the scenes trying to make it easier for her and providing for her. Similarly, God is always behind the scenes orchestrating things for His perfect purposes. It doesn’t let us off the hook though. We still need to get up and take part in it. And often we don’t even think much about the doors that open in front of us. We think we just got lucky or were at the right place at the right time. How would your vision of things change if you always had in your mind that God was working…for you, for Him?
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We begin to see the strong character of Boaz here as well. He makes sure Ruth has food to eat…even leftovers for Naomi. He shares a meal with her. He tells his men to even pull out some of what they gathered and leave it behind for her to pick up.

Ruth worked until evening and then threshed the barley she had gathered. It was a long full day of hard work. She brings it home to Naomi, her beloved mother-in-law. And did you notice she even stashed the leftovers from the meal for Naomi! What a picture of loyalty and doing the hard things for those you love.

When you evaluate your daily activities, how would you classify your work ethic? Are there areas you can improve upon?

Several times in the New Testament we are given instructions about how we should work…

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters (Colossians 3:23, NIV)

Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. (Ephesians 6:7, NLT)

Let Ruth – and God’s Word – inspire you to work hard at all you do, even if it seems like a menial, thankless task at the time.  Often times the seemingly small tasks that no one wants to do can turn into the biggest blessings in ways we never expected.

Have you ever experienced obedience in a small (or even big) task turning into a bigger blessing than you ever could have imagined?