Hope From a Doggy Bag

The psalmist speaks of praising God for his mighty acts from one generation to another (Ps 145:3,4). What do you think of when you think of the mighty acts of God? Creation? The Flood? The Exodus, when God led his people through the Red Sea but closed the waters over the Egyptian army that was pursuing them? The incarnation? The miracles of our Lord Jesus? His resurrection from the dead? These are all mighty acts, certainly worthy of passing on from generation to generation.
What do you think of when you think of the little book of Ruth? At first reading, many people think Ruth is just an entertaining story about ordinary events in the lives of ordinary people. Love in a barley field. Boy (in this case, older man) meets girl; boy marries girl; and together they have a baby. Where are the mighty acts of God here? There are no miracles. No universal flood. No Red Sea crossing. No resurrections from the dead.
But is God's glory only seen in the big events of world history? Is it not seen in smaller things as well? In 1 Kings 19 God determined to pass by Elijah in his glory. His glory was not in the mighty rushing wind, in the earthquake, or in the blazing fire. His glory was in a still, small voice, a whisper. Ruth teaches us to look for God's glory where we least expect to find it, in the whisper of ordinary events in everyday life....