I’m fascinated by how a few tiny words can impact a sentence. As a novelist, I use the influence of one or two choice words on every page in my manuscripts. Just a word of dialogue can make someone laugh or cry, and a few can change the meaning of a whole conversation. God, the Author of His story, uses these word dynamics too.
Have a couple words in a verse ever jumped out at you? Maybe seemingly small, but potent words?
This happens to me when I encounter, just then, at that moment, or immediatelyin Scripture. You can be reading a story where the biblical character seems to be heading down a troubling path, then God uses what I call the “just then” principle. And at once, the whole story gets turned around revealing a new, God-ordained development.
One of my favorite instances of the “just then” principle is found in the story of Ruth. She’s an outsider who marries into an Israelite family. Her husband has died, as well as her brother-in-law and father-in-law. She makes a choice to go with her mother-in-law, Naomi, when a famine strikes instead of returning to her own blood relatives. She’s brave and honorable, but in trouble as she and Naomi have no food or real chance to make their life better. They are completely dependent on God to step in and change their circumstances.
She goes to a field to collect the grain left on the ground so they’ll have something to eat, and just then the crop’s owner, Boaz—an important, kind man from Naomi’s family— arrives and notices her. Was this luck? Nope. God’s plan is never too early or too late. He causes all things to happen when they’re supposed to. Ruth marries Boaz. He’s able to care for her and Naomi, and their son becomes the grandfather to David, God’s anointed king.
I think of this principle often, like when a check comes in the mail at just the right moment, I receive a much-needed text from a friend during a hard time, or I accidently get to my son’s bus stop late to see it halt on the pavement at the same time.
Big or small, God provides what’s needed at the precise moment. Lookout for this happening in your life, but also for those few choice words, highlighting a new, God orchestrated event, happening at just the right time, as you read the Bible.
GOD BLESS YOU.
Kristen Terrette holds a Master's degree in Theological Studies and served as a Children's Ministry Director for five years. She cherishes her Southern roots and currently lives forty-five minutes outside of Atlanta, GA. With the support of her husband and two children, she stays at home writing Christian fiction, allowing God to take the story where He needs it to go. She’s also serves on the women's leadership and teaching team at her church and writes for Wholly Loved ministries at WhollyLoved.com. You can read her personal blog and check out her current novels at www.kristenterrette.com.