From the archives of Evelyn Roberts
Do you ever feel as if you’ve planted seeds of faith, yet never gotten a harvest from them? In the book of Ruth, a woman named Naomi must have felt as if she had never gotten a harvest from all the seeds of faith she had planted.
Naomi, her husband, and their two sons had moved to Moab during a famine. But soon after, her husband died. I’m sure she prayed to the Lord to send the right girls for her sons to marry, and they married Orpah and Ruth. But just a few years later, both of her sons died! No doubt, during this time Naomi told the girls about God and planted seeds of faith in their lives.
When the famine was over in her homeland, Naomi made preparations to go home. Orpah and Ruth started the journey with her, but she urged them to go back to their own people. Orpah decided to return to Moab, but Ruth stayed with her beloved mother-in-law (Ruth 1:6-18).
When Naomi and Ruth got to Bethlehem, Naomi directed Ruth to work in the field of Boaz, a relative of Naomi’s husband. According to Jewish custom, Boaz, a kinsman, could redeem their situation and keep the family name alive. Ruth began gleaning Boaz’s fields. They fell in love and were married. The couple had a son named Obed. Obed had a son named Jesse, Jesse’s son became King David, and after many generations, Jesus was born into this lineage!
What a mighty harvest Naomi received from the seeds of faith she planted! She didn’t see the fulfillment of all of her seeds in her lifetime, just as you might not see the fulfillment of all the seeds you have planted right away. But God is faithful to His word. Your harvest will come!