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Day 14: The Redeemer Who Brings Us Home at the Right Time
Scripture:
So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabite her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.
Ruth 1:22
Our week started with a famine and a departure. But on the last day of it, we end with a harvest and a return. We’ve been tracing God’s hand as He met Naomi even before her first step to now when He’s had her return home at just the right time. The fact that they come to the house of bread at the beginning of the barley harvest is no accident. God had this planned all along.
Notice that she comes at the beginning of the harvest, not in the middle, and not in the end. There is a whole season of harvest that she’s going to experience. When she comes, she doesn’t know how God is going to provide for her. In fact, it seems she’s skeptical that He will. As our story moves forward, Naomi is going to learn firsthand of the generous provision of her Redeemer. While she has been complaining about all that has come from His hand, she’s about to learn how He brings exactly what His people need, at the right time.
Had her Redeemer brought her home earlier, she would have had to wait for the harvest longer than she could live. But had He brought her home after the harvest, she would not have learned the lesson of trust and patience. He brings her home exactly when she needs it. And the same is true with us. Of course, you know that we aren’t coming home as the barley harvest starts. But God’s timing hasn’t changed. It’s not too early, nor too late. It’s right on time.
Some of you are learning this lesson firsthand. You have a need that only your Redeemer can provide. You wish his provision would come earlier, but it hasn’t. It won’t come until you too learn the lesson of trust and patience. It won’t come all at once, but it will come in just the right measure that’s required for your faith and growth.
See, God’s timing is redemptive. It isn’t as if He’s withholding the good you need or ignoring your prayers. His delay isn’t because He is cruel or uncaring. While you are waiting, He is shaping your heart with His purpose, aligning your desires and requests to His, and making you more trusting, dependent, and humble.
Just as Naomi arrived at the beginning of the barley harvest, you will arrive at the exact moment when God’s provision is ripe, ready, and overflowing. Not a moment too soon. Not a moment too late. And here is the deeper truth, God’s timing is not just about what He gives you. No, it’s about who He is making you. His waiting is not a season of waste.
The waiting God has for us is not punishment for not being good enough. It’s a place where God grows roots, God strengthens faith, prepares the harvest, and draws you closer to Himself. And this is where the gospel shines brightest. After all, Jesus knows what it is to wait. He waited for the fullness of time to come. He waited for the cross. He waited for the resurrection morning. He waited for the joy set before Him, and because Jesus waited perfectly, you can wait with hope.
He is the Redeemer who brings you home at the right time. It won’t be when you demand it or when you fear it’s too late, but when the harvest is ready and your heart is prepared to receive His grace. And this is why Jesus is better than your timeline, because His timing is perfect. He is better than your impatience, because His patience is redemptive. He is better than your fear of being forgotten, because He never forgets His own. He is better than the harvest you’re waiting for, because He Himself is the greater harvest.
Jesus is better because He brings you home, not early, not late, but right on time. Will you wait?
Pastor Josh Gerber |
