Dear Church of the Open Bible,
In the Book of Ruth, Naomi returns to her hometown of Bethlehem with very little. She has lost her husband and both her sons. Only one of her daughters-in-law, Ruth, returns with her. In their need, Ruth sets out one morning to glean the leftovers in the fields around town so that they can survive. The narrator describes what happens next this way:
So she set out and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers, and she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the clan of Elimelech. - Ruth 2:3
The fields back then weren’t huge quarter sections but small, numerous parcels of land. And out of all the fields in the patchwork of fields surrounding Bethlehem, Ruth just so happened to end up in Boaz’s field, a relative of Naomi’s! Not only does Ruth just happen to end up in Boaz’s field, but she happens to be there when Boaz arrives to look over it. “What a coincidence!” the narrator says tongue in cheek. “What a stroke of luck!”
At Alpha this week, we took time sharing moments of divine coincidence in our lives. How part of God’s loving care is recognized in His providential guiding. As you trust God this week, expect Him to work. Ask Him to open your eyes to how He has led and guided you. That chance meeting at a grocery store. That name that keeps popping up. Being at the right place, at the right time. As we see God’s hand at work, may it increase our faith and His glory.