Where Is God in the book of Ruth?

Claire Black: This is True Girl, a podcast for girls and their moms. We’ll explore God’s truth together on one last flight.

This week the True Girl Travel Agency is taking you to . . . China!

China is the home of lots of amazing things you might enjoy like: martial arts, calligraphy, and fireworks!

As we do some searching around the country, we’ll also do some searching through the book of Ruth. We need to figure out exactly where God was in her story. Seeing God in the pages of the book of Ruth will help you understand where He is in your story.

This entire season of the True Girl podcast is based on a Bible study called Ruth: Becoming a Girl of Loyalty by Dannah Gresh.

Here’s episode 6—the final one of season nine—titled “Where Is God in the Book of Ruth?”

Here’s Staci!

Staci Rudolph: Wow, it looks great!

Dannah Gresh: Well, they don’t call it the great wall for nothing, Staci. And I gotta warn ya, you’re not gonna feel this energetic once you get up there? It’s a steep, long climb to get up to the great wall!

Staci: Ah, yeah, I can see that. I can’t believe we’re in China. You’ve been here a time or two right, Dannah?

Dannah: Yep. This country has a special place in my heart. My third child, Autumn, was born here. We learned about her need for a family when she was thirteen and adopted her that same year. I came here to get her and then a few years later, her dad and I brought her back for a visit. What a fun time that was.

She is, of course, our special guest advisor for this last leg of the Ruth Package! 

Staci: I can’t believe this is the last one. It went so fast!

Dannah: Oh wait, wait! Autumn left us a voicemail to listen to when we got here. Come closer True Girl. Let’s listen to this before we get any higher because we may lose cell service.

Autumn: Hey guys, I’m so excited you’re in Beijing, China! Welcome to the Great Wall! China was my home until I was thirteen years old. That’s when my parents adopted me. And a few years later, they took me back so I could visit my friends and see the Great Wall of China, something I grew up wishing I could visit. Did you know this wall is sooo massive that you can actually see it from outer space? Take lots of water. It’s a steep climb to get on the wall.

Mandarin is the main language spoken throughout China, and I’m sure you’ve heard lots of it already. Don’t be intimidated though, Mom, try using some of what I’ve taught you. But True Girl, be warned. My mom doesn’t pronounce things quite right. Let me teach you to say hello. Repeat after me, “Ni hao.” Good. Try one more time. “Ni hao.”

Now, when it comes to getting some really good food, Jiaozi, or Chinese dumplings, is the way to go. They’re soooo good! Well, I’ll let you guys get to it. Enjoy my home country and eat a dumpling for me!

Staci: Sounds like we’re about to have a blast!

Dannah: You bet we are! And Autumn’s right. I don’t pronounce things very well. It’s a difficult language. But I still like to tell Autumn and her daughter—my granddaughter, Stella—Wǒ ài nǐ. That means, “I love you!”

Staci: Aww! Okay, I’m ready. This Great Wall is one magnificent creation if you ask me. Let’s climb!

Dannah: Agreed. Hey, speaking of creation . . .

Staci: Uh oh, I feel a smooth transition coming on.

Dannah: You sure do. So, you’d say the Bible is the story of God’s relationship with His creation, right?

Staci: Yes ma’am

Dannah: But while reading through the book of Ruth, it might be easy to ask, “Hey, when is God going to show up? He’s not even in this story!”

Well, what if I told you that He did show up? The book of Ruth actually shows exactly how God has a relationship with creation! 

Staci: Well, I’d believe ya if you told me that.

Dannah: Well good, because it’s true. The book of Ruth teaches us how to see God’s work in our lives, and shows us God’s lovefor us! 

Even though we don’t see God walking and talking as a character in her story, that doesn’t mean that He wasn’t there. In fact, He played a really big part in the things that happened! God participated in the story of Ruth through something called providence.

Staci: That sounds a lot like the word provide.

Dannah: Yes ma’am. Those two words are very similar. Providence is just a big word to describe the protective care of God happening all around us. It’s when God acts by making sure the events in our life go according to His plan. 

Staci: Like when He provided those last few empty slots on our Great Wall tour so we could bring everyone on this massive, very steep climb! Wow, it’s hard to walk and talk up these stairs! (puffing)

Dannah: Yep, we saw His providence at work there. You know where else God was at work?

Staci: Where?

Dannah: In my daughter Autumn’s life. Now, I won’t go into the details. It’s her story to tell, but she still needed a family when she became a teenager. Autumn grew up in a nation where the Christians are mostly underground. She didn’t hear about Jesus or God’s love. So, just like the book of Ruth, it might seem like He wasn’t there. But that wasn’t true. Providence was at work.

You see, my friends from the Christian group NewSong were traveling in China during Autumn’s thirteenth year of life. They were there to learn about international adoption and to make some videos to encourage Christians to adopt. Well, it just so happened they walked right past Autumn. Autumn asked a woman she was with, “Who are those people?” 

And that woman told her, “They are here to learn about adopting children from China.” Well, my sweet little Autumn walked right up to them and said, “I need a mom and a dad!” 

Staci: You’re kidding. Out of all the people in China—and there’s a lot—they walked past Autumn?

Dannah: Yep, and Autumn lives in what you might call the “boonies”—the middle of nowhere. Not a popular place for people to travel to, that’s for sure!

And that day was the beginning of our family changing from four to five people. 

Staci: Woah! That could not have been a coincidence.

Dannah: No, it was providence. God at work in Autumn’s life even though she could not see Him!

Staci: Wow! Well, True Girl! (huffing) 

Dannah: I warned ya.

Staci: I know. Let’s talk about this. It might take our mind off these stairs!

Now, God made everything, and because of that, He also has the power to control everything. He can control where a bunny builds its nest, or how many strawberries grow on a plant, or even what grade you get on your next test (though the studying part is up to you). But we can’t see Him at work with our eyes. He does it, and we don’t even notice!

Even when we don’t see God moving around and making things happen, He always sees us. Providence means that God always sees our situations and helps them turn out the way He wants them to.

Let’s say you are studying for your science test, and you decide to have a strawberry from your garden as a snack. When you pick it up, it has a tiny little worm in it. You don’t want to eat that strawberry! So, you throw it over the fence and out of the garden. It lands right next to a bunny’s nest. The bunny is so happy, because she now has dinner to feed her babies. God didn’t place that strawberry there with His own hands, but He did line up the events to make sure the bunny family was fed. That’s what providence looks like. He makes sure the bunnies are fed, and He makes sure that we are taken care of too!

Dannah: I love that, Staci! So, providence was God’s role in the story of Ruth, right? He was making sure everything around her was happening in a way that would help and protect her. He was unfolding His plan. 

Staci: While God may not have been high fiving the workers and handing out juice boxes in the heat of the fields where Ruth was working to collect enough grain for dinner that night; it doesn’t mean He wasn’t there and working in Ruth’s situation. In fact, He was the one who directed Ruth to that field in the first place. Let’s check out our key verse to see how God was at work.

Proverbs 16:9 says,

We can make our plans,
but the Lord determines our steps.

Dannah: I love that verse! It’s a great reminder of God’s providence.

When Ruth set out that morning to pick the barley, she’d decided she would work in a random field. It wasn’t just a coincidence that Ruth happened to stop in Boaz’s field, who happened to be a family redeemer. God planned it that way! 

He knew that if Ruth had gone to many of the other fields, she might be bullied for being from another country. God knew Boaz was a good and safe man who would not let that happen in his field. Do you remember why? Because he obeyed God’s rules to provide for foreigners, widows, and orphans! 

Ruth may have planned to go out and find a field to work in, but God directed Ruth’s steps so that she would make her way to Boaz’s field to work. Do you see how God was at work making that happen? In fact, He’s directing how the story turns out throughout the book of Ruth! Sometimes we just don’t notice it, but when we learn to look for it, we see it.

Okay, so now that we know how God was at work in the story, let’s look back on some of the big things that happened. We’ll see if we think these things happened because the characters planned them, or because God planned them.

Staci: Oooh! We should break them up into scenes!

Dannah: Good idea! 

Staci: Oh, oh, oh, look at that thing! ACTION! 

Dannah: That thing is an ancient suspended gong! I don’t think you’re supposed to be hitting it.

Staci: Sorry, I got carried away. Okay, scene one:

In chapter 1, many members of Naomi’s family died. Not only that, but the country where they lived ran out of food. Naomi heard that there was plenty of food in the town where she was born, Bethlehem. Because of that, she wanted to retur.! Was it God or the people who “determined her steps”?

Dannah: God! 

Staci: Ding ding ding! We have a right answer!

Dannah: Okay, my turn! Scene two:

In chapter 2 Boaz met Ruth in his field, and he liked her. He was impressed by how hard she worked and how much she cared for her mother-in-law. Ruth liked Boaz, because he was so kind and devoted to God. When Ruth told Naomi that they had met, she found out that Boaz was actually one of her family’s family redeemers! (Remember that important title?) Because they met, they discovered there was hope for their family! Was it God or the people who “determined her steps”?

Staci: That would be God, my friend!

Dannah: You got it dude!

Staci: Okay, scene three:

In chapter 3, Ruth and Naomi realized that the only way to save their family was for Ruth to marry Boaz. And, because of their interactions in the past, Ruth already knew that Boaz liked her! So, all she had to do was ask for his help. Was it God or the people who “determined her steps”?

Dannah: That was God! 

Okay, one more! Scene four:

In chapter 4, Boaz had to go to the town and make sure that the leaders and another family redeemer would allow him to marry Ruth. The other family redeemer was allowed to pick first and marry Ruth if he wanted to, but he passed on a great girl. Because of that, Boaz was allowed to marry Ruth! Was it God or the people who “determined her steps”?

Staci: We know by now that that too was God.

Dannah: Right, you are my friend. You know something else, Staci?

Staci: What?

Dannah: In the same way that God was writing the story for Ruth, He 

is also always involved in our lives. Unless we’re looking for where God is working in our lives every day, sometimes the things He does can go unnoticed. Don’t let that happen. It’s important to stop and look for where He is working. When we look for the ways God is working in our lives, we can see how much He loves us!

Staci: So, when God was planning the story of Ruth, He did it with a specific purpose in mind, huh? Not only did He want to teach us loyalty and show us how loyalty can affect our lives, but He wanted to show His loyalty to us! 

Dannah: Exactly. Remember that loyalty is an act of love. When we see and recognize God’s work in the story of Ruth, we see how much He loved her. And how did He show His love? Let’s read Psalm 34:19 to find out. 

Staci: I can read it for us.

The righteous person faces many troubles,
but the Lord comes to the rescue each time.

God comes to the rescue each time! Does that sound like our definition of loyalty or what?

Dannah: Yep! God continues to show up for us over and over again. Ruth faced many troubles, but she remained loyal, making her a righteous person.

Staci: And she did get rescued from her troubles. She was an outcast in that country with no way of living a comfortable life there. No one liked her because she was different. She couldn’t make money because she was a woman. She had to work hard all day to even get enough food to eat for dinner every night. Talk about troubles!

Dannah: Yep, but the story didn’t end there. God didn’t let it.

Instead, He introduced Ruth to Boaz. Boaz accepted Ruth and loved her. He married her and changed her life from being a time of trouble, to a time of celebrating! 

Instead of being bullied and rejected, Ruth was accepted! 

Instead of never having enough to eat, Ruth now owned the whole farm! 

Instead of having no family, Ruth now had a husband, and she had a son! 

God loved Ruth, so He sent Boaz into Ruth’s life to rescue her. Boaz was Ruth’s family redeemer. He gave her a new life.

God wanted Ruth’s life to turn out that way because He wanted to remind us of His love for us. Do you know God was trying to use this story to remind us of another story? I’ll give you a hint: it’s the story of Ruth’s great, great, great, great (times a ton more “greats”) grandson: Jesus!

Just like Ruth, we’re living a life that has a lot of troubles. I bet it’s not very hard for you to remember a time when you felt really sad, hopeless, lonely, or even afraid. You’ve probably felt all of those feelings, just like Ruth did! But that’s not the end of the story for Ruth, and whatever you’re facing right now is not the end of your story either. 

God sent Boaz to rescue Ruth, and He sent Jesus to rescue us. Jesus Christ is our family redeemer! Have you ever heard of Jesus called our Redeemer?

Staci: Yeah, I have. And that makes so much sense. That connection is so amazing and so true! When we were separated from God by our sins, God’s providence sent Jesus to protect and provide for us.

Now, you may ask, “What is Jesus protecting us from?” Jesus is protecting us from death. I know it’s not the happiest thing to talk about, but death is a sad reality in our world. The book of Ruth starts with death. And each of our lives will end with physical death, but we do not have to die spiritually. Jesus has protected us from that.

Dannah: And this brings us full circle, Staci. Earlier in our study of Ruth’s story, we talked about how Jesus’ life is the best example of loyalty, and I shared John 3:16 with us. Let me read it once again.

“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”

Jesus died for us so that we don’t have to die spiritually. He did this to remain loyal to God the Father’s desire to have a relationship with each of us and to remain loyal to His love for us. There’s no greater example of loyal love!

Staci: I agree! Could I share another verse that goes right along with this?

Dannah: Oh, of course! 

Staci: It’s John 11:25-26

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he died, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

When Jesus died on the cross for us, He defeated sin by rising from the dead. This is the ultimate protection and rescues us from eternal death. Satan, who is referred to in the Bible as a “thief” wants to steal life from us. 

John 10:10 says

“The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.”

The enemy wants us to die. Jesus wants us to live. 

So, even though each of us will die physically, we can live spiritually and eternally if we accept Jesus as our Savior or Redeemer. Accepting this free gift from God is how we become a Christian.

Dannah: What a wonderful free gift it is. Another great thing to remember is that Jesus not only protected us from death, but His purpose is to give us a rich and satisfying life. Just like Boaz gave Ruth a new life, Jesus wants to give us a new life. That doesn’t mean it’s always easy. (Ruth’s life sure wasn’t.) But it does mean He is available to us and protects and provides.

The bottom line: God loves you, so He sent Jesus into the world to rescue you. Jesus can be your Redeemer. And God continues to show us that love every single day, if we are looking. We can trust, always, no matter what, that God loves us, and the Bible promises us He is coming to our rescue.

Staci: Amen! Something I’ve taken from Ruth’s story is the truth that her story is ours too. When God shaped her life to look like the story of Jesus, He was reminding us that we are as much a part of God’s story as Ruth was. 

She may have a whole book of the Bible about her, but as we’ve learned, her story wasn’t anything special. 

In fact, what made Ruth so special was her commitment to be loyal in times that were really normal! Her life didn’t reflect the story of Jesus because of anything she did. When she accepted the challenge to live God’s way, God was able to work in her life, and God turned her story into something special. God is asking us to live a life of loyalty so that He can use our story to tell the story of Jesus too.

Dannah: You are spot on, Staci. Okay, so we’ve been finding God’s providence—or protection and provision—in the story of Ruth. But that’s not the only place we can find those things. He is also at work in your life all the time, at every moment! 

The book of Ruth reminds us that even when we don’t see God, He is still doing things around us. Let me see if I can remember some of Matthew 6:25–34. I’m working on memorizing this for when I feel anxious. It says, 

“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. 

“They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?

“And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?

“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.”

Staci: You did it! Wow! Good job! 

God cares for the birds and the flowers, and He most certainly cares for you, True Girl! Even the small things like our food and our clothes. He plays a role in taking care of every part of our lives, every day! God is loyal to love us every single day. We just have to loyally look for Him in each moment!

Dannah: Kinda like we’re making the effort (huffing) to get up to the top of this wall!

Staci: (huffing) Yeah! That’s such good truth! Whew, this is a hard climb!

Now, if you’re anything like me, sometimes you can be forgetful. God might have done something for us, but if we aren’t looking for Him, we might not even see it. Then we might forget it. To see God at work in our lives, it’s good to make a habit of looking for Him all the time, in the moment. When we are always looking for God at work, we will start to see Him doing things in our lives we never even realized. And that makes us more loyal to Him. And you know what else it makes us? Thankful!

Dannah: (grunting) Yes. True Girl, isn’t it amazing to see how the Bible fits together? What happened four or five thousand years before Jesus was born is a beautiful example of how God works in our lives. We may make our own plans, but God directs our paths. He is loyal to us, but sometimes that’s hard to see in real time.

Staci: Well, will you look at that view!! I think it was worth it . . . but I’m pretty sure my legs are gonna feel this tomorrow!

Dannah, this view . . . We see so much more up here. I see that . . . what is it? A Chinese temple or something. I didn’t know that was there…And oh, I see the airport waaaaaayyyyy over there. Wow! There’s so much more to see.

Dannah: Yeah. Imagine what God can see from where He is! He sees it all when we can only see the next hard step in front of us!

Staci: Exactly! That’s why you have to trust Him. He is at work even when you can’t see it. I pray you will see how He directs your paths, True Girl. And I hope you’ll remember the loyalty lessons Ruth’s story taught us. Live them out in your life. It will be exciting to get to heaven one day when thousands of years have passed and look back . . . or down . . . or whatever . . . and see how your ordinary days of being loyal turned into something special in God’s story!

Dannah: Yeah, Staci, that will definitely be a special time.

Staci: Well True Girl, our travels are coming to an end. The True Girl Travel Agency is getting ready to wrap up this tour and head back to our headquarters in State College, PA. I’d say it’s been a fun and informative six weeks. I feel ready to live as a girl of loyalty. 

Dannah: Me too, Staci. Hey! Let’s walk along the wall for a while, but I gotta be honest. I’ve worked up an appetite. After this, I’m hoping God will provide a few of those dumplings for dinner. 

Staci: Me, too!

Claire: Well, our trip has come to an end, and I hope you’ve had as much fun as I have traveling with the True Girl Travel Agency. We experienced a lot, learned a lot, and ate a lot. It was a blast! Most important of all, I hope you’re well on your way to being a girl of loyalty. Even though loyalty may not be popular, it sure is important. God desires for you to live it out so He can do great things through your life just like Ruth.

Enjoy our last recipe for the season, Chinese Dumplings. You can find a recipe online. They can be a bit hard to make, so we won’t judge you if you find a really good restaurant in your area that makes them. Ask your mom to post a picture on Instagram and tag @truegirlofficial. 

And remember, you’re never too young to start studying the Bible. Visit MyTrueGirl.com to find Bible studies created just for girls your age! You might start with Ruth: Becoming a Girl of Loyalty, by Dannah Gresh. Or, there’s our new on-demand Bible study for moms and daughters. It’s based on the book Lies Girls Believe and the Truth That Sets Them Free, which was also written by Dannah. You can learn about that at MyTrueGirl.com/LiesGirlsBelieve. 

The True Girl podcast is produced by Revive Our Hearts calling women of all ages to freedom, fullness, and fruitfulness in Christ!

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