Faith in All ThingsSample

The Big Picture

Not all our stories have happy endings, but there are enough of them around to have us pause to thank God for them. What started out as a bleak and unpromising set of circumstances can become the prelude to a fresh season of hope and joy.

Naomi would understand this. The woman who came to Bethlehem bitter in the certainty that God had abandoned her, now embraces a newborn in the presence of her newly married daughter-in-law Ruth. And that too was a story with a happy ending. The lonely foreigner found love and refuge not merely under the wings of God but under the kind protection of Boaz.

Our life stories may resemble this. The darkness of despondency can turn to light. What we fear may not come upon us. Other people may be comforts to us sent by God. Then again, if we are honest, it can go the other way. Sometimes our stories go from light to darkness, at least for a time. We can only cling to the assurance of God’s companionship through each and every season of our life journey.

And we can remind ourselves that God sees the big picture, the long view. Naomi and Ruth were not to know that the newborn being cuddled was to be one of the distant ancestors of the Messiah. Our stories do not end when our own lives end.

Written by DAVID REAY

Want more? Check out the Real Hope Conversations Podcast and hear out chat with David Barker about Ruth. Available wherever you listen to podcasts.