Sometimes God calls us to work alone so that we can see the pieces of bread that He is throwing on our way. The book of Ruth teaches us that sometimes when we walk an uncommon path, God leaves bread crumbs or barley on the path. His provision is bounty when we walk in faith and choose to travel in unfamiliar places.
Ruth was not familiar with the place but she gleaned in an area of abundance when the people who were there had been harvesting for a long time. She came in and behind people she picked up barely, not begging but getting to work. She didn’t fit in and so Boaz was able to spot her in that situation.
Sometimes we want to be in familiar places hoping that the right people will see us but it is often in the unfamiliar places when we do what we need to do, where we often get seen. Her heart was postured correctly. She didn’t want to be seen but was there to get something to eat for herself and her mother in law. The other pickers probably gossiped about her, looked down at her and maybe didn’t want her joining in any group but she knew why she was there and didn’t lose sight of her goal.
Sometimes selfishness closes our doors because we only focused on ourselves. Ruth didn’t leave Naomi to go back to the comforts of her mother’s house. She chose to go with Naomi to an unfamiliar place and that takes faith. The faith that surpasses her need for comfort or familiarity. This also shows her love and loyalty for Naomi. We don’t take unfamiliar paths for people that we don’t believe in. We don’t take uncomfortable decisions for people that we don’t love.
So be mindful where you go when you at the end of your rope or how you treat people when you don’t need them. Ruth didn’t need Naomi but she knew that Naomi might need her. Even in taking the unfamiliar path, Ruth remembered that her love for Naomi outweighed her discomfort of the moment. She didn’t underestimate the work or look down on it. She took on the work, prepared to do what was necessary in the moment to get them both fed. In that moment, God provided by placing her strategically in Boaz’s sight. When we remove our need to be anything but present in the moment, we open ourselves for God to move us and place us. She was placed, she gleaned and she met Boaz. Running with the herd is something the most damaging thing you can do for yourself.
