There Was a Famine

For those who think both God and his Bible are anti-women, I can’t wait for you to experience a dose of truth over the next several posts at The Intersection. God not only loves women, he specifically chose two of the most ordinary to become key characters in His greatest plot. In fact, two entire books of the Bible are devoted to the telling of their stories. The “commoner-to-queen” story is reserved for June. For the month of May, we’re reading the incredible journey of a woman named Ruth.

The book of Ruth opens with these words:

“In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine n the land…” ~ Ruth 1:1

Think about this for a minute: The beginning of every great story is often marked by a great crisis. We’ll get to the greatness of Ruth’s story later, but I don’t want you to miss the importance of verse 1. The catalyst to Ruth’s involvement in God’s epic story was a famine. A famine that drove a family of four from Israel to the foreign land of Moab to try and find food. It was the difficult that gave birth to the incredible.

So often we want to the wonder of a great story without experiencing any hardship or discomfort. We want the glory without the pain, the reward without the effort, the deliverance without the experience of slavery.

I’m not sure if Ruth ever wondered the same thing, but she was in for a huge dose of it just the same. If you aren’t familiar with Ruth’s story, you’re in for an adventure. It’s a good one, full of grief and hope, loss and renewal. And a happily-ever-after ending you couldn’t dream up even if you tried.

But when we get to the end, after all the conflicts are resolved and heartache absolved, and when the words “…and they lived happily ever after” are stamped on the last page, I want you to remember one thing:

The story of her most beautiful adventure began with a famine.

Don’t be surprised if yours does, too.