Hey, it's David Platt. I am really looking forward to Secret Church 25 on April 11th, and I hope you'll

join us for six hours digging deep into the book of Matthew, praying for our persecuted

brothers and sisters. And if you register by April 2nd and live in the U.S., the UK, or Canada,

we'll make sure your printed scripture journal gets to you in time for

Secret Church. I really don't want you to miss this. Sign up today at radical.net slash

SC25. Pray the word with David Platt is a resource from radical.net.

Ruth chapter 1, verse 22. 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

this is one of my favorite verses I was about to say in the book of Ruth but I think in the Bible and part of it's because Ruth is one of my favorite verses. I was about to say in the book of Ruth, but I think in the Bible, and part of it's because

Ruth is one of my favorite books in the Bible.

And this sentence, there's so much I could talk about that goes into why this is

one of my favorite verses.

But this was a low point in Naomi's life.

She had lost her husband, her two sons. She was returning back to her

homeland from Moab, not just a foreign land, but a forbidden land. And she has a Moabite daughter-in-law

with her. And she has just said before this, I went away full, and the Lord has brought me back empty.

But what happens at the end of verse 22 is the narrator, author of the Book of Ruth, says they came to

Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest. And the picture is, Naomi has no idea all the good God has

in store for her and for her family in this barley harvest and in this Moabite daughter-in-law

next to her. And the overarching takeaway from this verse is that in the

moments when God may feel farthest from you, the reality is he may actually be setting the stage

for the greatest displays of his faithfulness to you in ways

...