Have you ever struggled to figure life out? That’s a crazy question isn’t it? We all at some point have to scratch our head and wonder, what in the world is going on? I believe there are a lot of people trying to do that right now with COVID-19. I want us to see in today’s text that we can trust that God is working all things out for His glory and His children’s good. Ruth 4:14 says, “Then them women said to Naomi, ‘Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you without a close relative, and may his name be famous in Israel.'”
When Naomi first came back to Bethlehem after 10 years of living in Moab, she didn’t want to be called Naomi anymore. Instead, she wanted to be called Mara, which means bitter. Naomi looked at the circumstances of her life and felt like God was punishing her, like He didn’t love her anymore. Yet, as we come to the close of the book in today’s text we see just the opposite. We see that God was working His plan out the entire time. Not just a plan for Naomi’s good, but ultimately what was going to be the for world’s good. We know this because the son that Ruth and Boaz had was the next link in the Messianic line. That is why Ruth 4 ends with giving a short genealogy that mentions David. While they were meaning Boaz or his son, when the ladies were talking about may he be famous in Israel, they didn’t realize just how famous the eventual offspring from this family’s line would be.
The book of Ruth is a tale of tragedy that ends in triumph. It pictures the victorious life of a Christian. Because no matter how bad things seem to be in our lives right now, because Jesus rose from the dead, the child of God has this blessed hope, that one day we were be in the eternal presence of the Savior who died for us. I’m not trying to make light of the difficult circumstances we find ourselves in right now. These are truly trying times. However, as a Christian, we can face uncertain days as the hymn says, “because He lives.” I don’t know what God is trying to accomplish through COVID-19, but I know that He is using it for His glory and our good. May His kingdom grow because people are surrendering and bowing their heart and life to Jesus. May the church be purified and live out the Great Commission during this time and beyond.
By His grace and for His glory,
Pastor Justin