Most of us carry a picture in our minds of how life is supposed to go. You try to make good decisions. You follow God. You try to live right. And somewhere in the back of your mind, you assume life will move forward in a predictable direction. You think, if I obey God, things will make sense. But sometimes life goes off script. The plan falls apart. The future you imagined disappears.
And suddenly you are left asking questions like: “Where is God in this? Why did this happen? Did I miss something?”
Most people assume that when God is working, we will see it clearly. We expect obvious signs and clear direction, and moments where everything makes sense. But sometimes life feels like a chapter where nothing is happening except loss. The hardest question people ask is this: “Where is God in this?” That question sits right in the middle of the book of Ruth, because when Ruth begins, Naomi’s life looks less like a blessing and more like a slow unraveling. But what Naomi cannot see is that God is already writing redemption in the background. And that is often how God works. God does some of His greatest work when it looks like nothing is happening at all.
Loss
When Life Empties Out
Ruth 1:1–5
In the days when the judges ruled in Israel, a severe famine came upon the land. So, a man from Bethlehem in Judah left his home and went to live in the country of Moab, taking his wife and two sons with him. The man’s name was Elimelech, and his wife was Naomi. Their two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in the land of Judah. And when they reached Moab, they settled there. Then Elimelech died, and Naomi was left with her two sons. The two sons married Moabite women. One married a woman named Orpah, and the other a woman named Ruth. But about ten years later, both Mahlon and Kilion died. This left Naomi alone, without her two sons or her husband.
The story begins with famine. A man named Elimelech takes his family from Bethlehem to Moab just to survive. At first, it seems practical. Maybe even wise. But then the unraveling begins. Elimelech dies. Naomi’s two sons marry Moabite women. Then both sons die. And suddenly Naomi is left with nothing. Three widows. No husband. No sons. No security. In that culture, that meant something terrifying. It meant no future.
Loss has a way of rewriting how we see everything.
Ruth 1:20–21
“Don’t call me Naomi, she responded. Instead, call me Mara, for the Almighty has made life very bitter for me. I went away full, but the Lord has brought me home empty. Why call me Naomi when the Lord has caused me to suffer and the Almighty has sent such tragedy upon me?”
The name Naomi means pleasant. The name Mara means bitter. Naomi is saying, “My life used to make sense but now everything tastes bitter.” You can almost hear the exhaustion in her voice. She is not giving a theological lecture. She is just being honest. She is basically saying, “I did everything right, and my life still fell apart.” And if we are honest, there are people in this room who have felt the same way. You prayed. You believed. You trusted God. And yet life did not unfold the way you expected. But here is what Naomi cannot see. God is not absent. God is quietly working behind the scenes. Oswald Chambers said, “Faith never knows where it is being led, but it loves and knows the One who is leading.”
Loyalty
When Faith Appears in Unexpected Places
Right in the middle of Naomi’s bitterness, something remarkable happens. Ruth speaks.
Ruth 1:16
“But Ruth replied, ‘Don’t ask me to leave you and turn back. Wherever you go, I will go. Wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.’ ” Ruth is a Moabite. She is an outsider. She is someone who does not belong to Israel. But Ruth refuses to abandon Naomi. She says, “Wherever you go I will go. Wherever you live I will live. Your people will be my people. Your God will be my God.”
This is more than loyalty. This is a conversion. Ruth is choosing the God of Israel over the gods of Moab. There is a powerful Hebrew word used earlier in this moment. Ruth 1:14 says, “Ruth clung to Naomi.” The Hebrew word is dabaq. It means to cling tightly, to hold fast, to attach yourself to someone. It is the same word used in Genesis 2:24 when it says a husband shall be joined to his wife. It describes covenant loyalty. Ruth is saying, “I am not leaving you.” Even in Naomi’s bitterness, God had already placed the first piece of redemption beside her.
Sometimes the first sign that God is working is not a miracle. Sometimes it is simply a faithful person refusing to leave your side. You might think God has abandoned you. But God may have already placed someone in your life who is evidence that He is still working. Charles Spurgeon said,
“God is too good to be unkind and too wise to be mistaken. And when we cannot trace His hand, we must trust His heart.”
Providence
When God Is Quietly Arranging Things
Eventually, Naomi and Ruth return to Bethlehem. They are poor. They have no land. They have no security. So, Ruth goes out to gather leftover grain in the fields. And then we read something fascinating.
Ruth 2:3
“So, Ruth went out to gather grain behind the harvesters. And as it happened, she found herself working in a field that belonged to Boaz.” The phrase “as it happened” sounds like coincidence. But the Hebrew language is actually almost humorous. The wording suggests something like her chance chanced upon the field of Boaz. From Ruth’s perspective, it looks random. But from God’s perspective, it is providence. Providence means God is arranging events even when we cannot see it. Ruth just happens to end up in Boaz’s field. Boaz just happens to notice her. Boaz just happens to be a close relative. But nothing about this is accidental. What looks random to us is often intentional to God. A. W. Tozer said, “A low view of God is the cause of a hundred lesser evils.” God is never reacting. God is always orchestrating.
Redemption
When God Was Working All Along
Boaz was what the Old Testament called a redeemer. The Hebrew word is ga’al. It describes a kinsman redeemer, a close family member who had both the right and the responsibility to step in when a family experienced loss. If land had been lost, the redeemer could buy it back. If a family line was about to disappear, the redeemer could marry the widow and preserve the family name. The redeemer restored what had been broken so the family would not disappear. That is exactly what Naomi needed. Her husband was gone. Her sons were gone. Her future looked finished. But Boaz had the ability to step in and restore what had been lost. So, Boaz redeems the land. He marries Ruth. And Naomi’s family is given a future again.
By the end of the book Naomi is holding a grandson in her arms.
Ruth 4:17
The neighbor woman said, “Now at last Naomi has a son again.” The woman who said she was empty is now full again. But the redemption story is even bigger than Naomi realizes. That child becomes the grandfather of King David. And generations later, Jesus Christ will be born from that same family line. Naomi thought her story was ending. But God was writing a redemption story that would reach the entire world.
The Bible tells an even bigger redemption story. Humanity lost what we could not restore. Sin broke what we could not fix. And just like Naomi needed a redeemer, we needed one too. That is why Jesus came.
1Peter 1:18–19
“For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.” Jesus stepped in to restore what sin had taken.
Some people listening today may feel like Naomi. Life did not unfold the way you expected. Plans fell apart. Loss came. And you may have wondered where God is in all of this. But Naomi’s story teaches us something powerful. God was writing redemption the whole time. Just because you cannot see what God is doing does not mean He is not working.
The God of Scripture specializes in bringing life out of nowhere. Joseph thought his life was ruined in a prison cell, but God was positioning him for a palace. David thought he was forgotten in a field, but God was preparing him for a throne. Naomi thought her story had ended, but God was preparing the family line of the Messiah.
Romans 8:28
And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose.
Just a thought,
Legacy Church
7201 Central Ave NW, Albuquerque, NM 87121
Phone (505) 831-0961
Website https://www.legacychurchnm.com
Phone (505) 831-0961
Website https://www.legacychurchnm.com
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