Dreamboat

Ruth 2:21 – 23 “Then Ruth the Moabitess said, ‘He even said to me, ‘Stay with my workers until they finish harvesting all my grain.’ Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, ‘It will be good for you, my daughter, to go with his girls, because in someone else’s field you might be harmed.’ So Ruth stayed close to the servant girls of Boaz to glean until the barley and wheat harvests were finished. And she lived with her mother-in-law.”

Boaz . . . (deep sigh.) What a dreamboat! He was single. He was kind, thoughtful, and generous. He was wealthy. And he was in love with Ruth.  For about six weeks, Ruth went to Boaz’ field to glean. She was protected and well-fed. And in those fields, she found love.

When Ruth arrived in Bethlehem, she expected to always be an outcast. She didn’t care about that, though. Her heart had been broken. Her husband had died, and if she couldn’t have him, she would at least stay with his mother. She would live with her mother-in-law for the rest of her days, in a land where she expected to be a servant and an outcast.

But God is good, and He doesn’t want us to live with perpetual broken hearts. Oh, we all have seasons of sadness, but with God, joy comes in the morning! We may experience the darkest of nights, the saddest of trials, the harshest of circumstances. But where God is, there is hope. Where God is, there are good things in store. God loves His children, and He loves to reward those who love Him in return.

I can look back at my own life. I have experienced some pretty rotten things – we all have. But God heals. When we follow Him, He will take us from a barren land to a land filled with milk and honey, or filled with barley and dreamboats, as in Ruth’s case.

Is your heart broken, my friend? Like Ruth, have you experienced a deep and tragic loss? Has someone betrayed you? Do you feel like there is no hope for happiness in your future? If so, you are wrong. God loves You, and  if you will just keep following Him, He will lead you out of the desert. He will heal your heart, and will replace what you have lost with something wonderful.

Dear Father, Thank You for healing and for hope.

Amen