When Benjamin Franklin acted as a delegate for our country in Paris, he was asked to speak at a meeting of the leading scholastic authorities. A large number of these men were condemning of the Bible and affirmed unbelievers. Not telling them the source, Franklin read them the story of Ruth. When he’d finished they clapped wildly, saying it was the most beautiful love story they had ever heard. Franklin shocked them into silence when he told them it was from the Bible.

Without question, Ruth is one of the world’s most excellent love stories. It includes a young Gentile widow who turned to God in her greatest trial. From this experience, she found a new and moving life. God led her to Boaz, gave her a new home, and later she became the grandmother of David, Israel’s greatest king. Through him, she was an ancestor of our Lord.

Of the many lessons to learn from the beautiful book of Ruth, possibly the greatly comforting is how God can take all the trials of our lives and make something beautiful from them. Instead of wandering into hopelessness when her husband died, Ruth turned to God. Her pain of separation was relieved, and God blessed her with a new family and a strong faith.

Trouble can either make us better or bitter. If we learn to look at our trials as opportunities for God to draw us near to Himself, then they will open many new doors to spiritual adventure. Christ is still Master of the storm and Lord of all our lives.

What opportunities have you experienced that were seen as trials and God drew you near to Himself and blessed you?

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