Ruth 2:7, 12 And she said, I pray you, let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves: so she came and hath continued even from the morning until now, that she tarried a little in the house….The Lord recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust.
Times were tough for the two widows, Naomi and Ruth, since there was no man in the house. Life is hard, and especially for widows in those days, but Ruth responded by working hard with little rest. She took the initiative to provide for herself and her mother-in-law by gleaning and gathering grain in the harvest fields, picking up the stray grains that the harvesters dropped. It was back-breaking work for just a little bread. She was poor, but she was not too lazy to work as a gleaner nor too proud or embarrassed to accept the charity of someone else.
If she had not been willing to work hard she would not have had the opportunity to meet the kindly relative, Boaz. He would change her life and give her the honor of becoming the ancestor of King David and of Christ the Savior of the world. The Lord rewarded her richly.
In fact, we can see the providence of God and His guiding hand in this whole story. He guided Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz to accomplish His will and get a good result. Ruth gets credit for her response to hard times, not complaining but working, but God gets the glory for directing events to bring about a happy ending. “The humble shall be exalted.” Ruth believed the God of Israel and humbly lived out her commitment to Naomi and her God.
Testing, trials, and hard times come to all of us, but our response of faithfulness to the Lord sees us through to the end, to the glory of God. Trust the promise; the reward is worth it.