There is Always Hope

In a recent Crossway article entitled, “7 Reasons Why You Should Study the Book of Ruth,” John Piper argues that “The message of Ruth is filled with God-inspired hope.” More broadly, the Old Testament as a whole teaches us to see God at work in ways that seem unlikely, never mind miraculous.

What is it about Ruth that should prompt us to recognize that, with God, there is always hope? On the surface, Ruth had every reason to despair. Her foreign husband died, along with his brother and father; her mother-in-law, Naomi, was now a childless widow with no obvious financial support; her family could quite likely have disowned her when she chose a husband from Moab’s enemies. For these reasons and more, Ruth’s situation looked utterly hopeless.

However, with our 20/20 hindsight vision, we can see that God had a plan all along. Not only a plan to look after Ruth and Naomi in the immediate future, but to use Ruth in God’s eternal sovereign plan to bring his Messiah to earth. Ruth would turn out to be King David’s great grandmother, securing a place in Jesus’ family tree.

Back to Piper who commented,
But here’s the question the book answers: Is God’s bitter providence the last word? Are bitter ingredients (like vanilla extract) put in the mixer to make the cake taste bad? Everywhere I look in the world today, whether near or far, the issue for real people in real life is, Can I trust and love the God who has dealt me this painful hand in life? That is the question the book of Ruth intends to answer.

When we face difficulties in our lives do we have the courage to have hope like Ruth? Can our faith in God for salvation also trust him to bring good out of our pain?

Oh God, fill me with a hope that your plan for me includes turning my pain into something good one day. I would love for it to be soon so I could sing your praises but I understand that I often can’t see the bigger picture.

Throughout This Day: Remember to take refuge under God’s mighty wings and he will lift you up in his time and for his purposes.