Ruth - A Great Fertility Story

I was reading in Ruth this morning, which ends up being an unbelievable fertility story. Ruth the Moabitess lived in Moab for 10 years with her husband Mahlon. During that time, she had no children. Imagine her horror, year after year after year, no children, and then her father-in-law, and then her husband and her brother-in-law all died. All hope for children was lost as she followed her mother-in-law back to Bethlehem.

But God had other plans. Boaz, her 'kinsman redeemer,' enters the scene. After some tension and drama, they get married and immediately bore a son, the ancestor of the Son of God. There was never anything wrong with her womb - it was just not God's timing nor His plan for her to have children by Mahlon. God could have given her children in Moab, but if He had, none of the rest of the story would have happened, and Obed, the 'father' of our Lord, would never have been born. God stopped her womb because He had something much, much more important for her to accomplish. In the end, once the whole story played out, God's wisdom was revealed to her, and she would never have had it any other way.

There is no way she could have known that in Moab, during her time of barrenness, but God always knew. God knows what He's doing, and we can trust Him. We don't always understand His decisions or His timing, but we can trust His plan. He has something profoundly important for each and every one of us. He has promised us that, but it will unfold in His way and in His timing. We will find peace to the degree we trust in that and surrender to His plan.

I loved this, and I pray that it brings women who live in Moab that peace.

Blessings to all of you who labor in God's great plan.

Sue