#214 A Chapter from "Lessons From Ruth: Discovering Your Destiny"

Chapter Ten

“Happenstance or Providence”

Cities and towns in Ruth’s day were usually set upon a hill. Bethlehem was no exception, and it is believed that at the foot of the hill leading out of Bethlehem, there lay a fertile valley in which the fields of the man Boaz lie.


We can probably say with good certainty that when Ruth crossed the border of Bethlehem and started down the hill, she had no idea where on earth she was going. As she walked along the way, there were no angelic visitations and no visions in the sky. There were no road signs at the bottom of the hill, and as far as we can surmise, no voices spoke to her.


Can’t you just feel the excitement of the four words that Samuel uses to describe what happens next? “As it turned out”. As it turned out, Ruth found herself in the field of Boaz. The King James translation says, “Her hap was to light on a part of the field belonging to Boaz.” That’s a fun sentence to say. From Ruth’s viewpoint, she just “happened” to end up in Boaz’s field. It was just happenstance. It was only a coincidence. I think not.


If Ruth had gone to another field, they may as well have called the shepherds and the Magi, and told them not to bother taking that trip to Bethlehem many years later. This was a set up. This was a divine set up!


Ruth was not in Boaz’s field by chance. God had provided this place. He directed Ruth to the appropriate Bethlehem field. Ruth was uncertain, but God was not. His providence over-ruled any uncertainty she may have had.


If the FBI had been there dusting for prints, the fingerprints of God would have been all over this one! The Holy Spirit had already written Matthew Chapter One, the genealogy of Christ, Ruth’s name was entered, and things had to go exactly according to plan.


Your times are in the hands of God today. Psalm 31: 15 says exactly that. “My times are in your hands.” Psalm 37: 23 says, “The steps of a righteous man are ordered by the Lord.” And Proverbs 20: 24 says, “A man’s steps are directed by the Lord. How then can anyone understand his own way?” Ruth had no understanding that day of what God was up to as her sandaled feet hit the barley fields of Boaz. God has the ultimate, final say in our lives. His fingerprints are all over us.


“As it turned out?” I don’t think so. I’m sure that Ruth saw her present situation, being as poor as she was, forced to pick up scraps, as a set-back. But this was no set-back. This was a set-up! A divine set-up!


If we could start to look at our own situations and circumstances and say, “Yes, this really stinks, but I believe that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). The situation I’m in is NOT a set-back. It’s a set-up!”


You might say, “Well, Donna, God was setting things up for the birth of the Messiah. Who am I? What difference do my circumstances make in the grand scheme of things?” Can I tell you that you have no idea what God may want to do with your life? You have no clue what He may have in mind. Think about your situation today and say out loud, “It’s a set-up!” Go ahead. Say it again. “It’s a set-up!”


God can use that very situation to work out His mighty plan for your life. He can use it to change your family, your church, your workplace, and your entire destiny. You may be hot, dirty, and exhausted from picking up scraps day after day, toiling in the hot sun of your circumstances, but God can turn that around in a hot second.


Joseph knew this. Look at what he told his brothers; the very same brothers who threw him in a pit and left him for dead.

“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” (Genesis 50: 20)

God is able to take every fiery dart the enemy throws at you and turn it to good. God can take even the evil deeds of others and turn them around for good. He’s setting you up!


We can believe that with all of our hearts, or we can murmur, grumble, and complain our way through our circumstances. That’s exactly what the nation of Israel did. It took them forty years to make an eleven day journey. We can wander aimlessly in the wilderness or we can get to our promised land, depending on the choice we make.


God is patient. He’s a gentleman. He will wait for you to stop murmuring, grumbling and complaining for as long as it takes. He will never force you to do anything. But you never know who, any minute, just around the corner, might be coming to the field where you are picking up the scraps! Your “just then” could be “right now!”

Verse 4 says, “Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem.” Was this another case of happenstance? Was it another happy accident? After what we’ve just learned, can you say, “NO WAY?” Nothing that happened here was an accident. This Boaz, the one who just happened to arrive from Bethlehem, was of the clan of Elimelech, Naomi’s dead husband, and we will soon see just how important that was. God hasn’t missed a trick! It’s all been a set-up!



Lessons from Ruth: Discovering Your Destiny
By Donna Schultz
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