Ruth was persevering. She was not diligent one day and slothful the next; she kept with the maidens of Boaz to glean until the end of the barley harvest and of the wheat harvest. Day after day she gleaned until the end of both the barley and the wheat harvest (Ruth 2:23). The Bereans were specially commended not simply for searching the Scriptures, but because they did so daily (Acts 17:11). It is easy to be diligent for one day, but to be diligent day after day calls for perseverance. Daily is a hard and testing word. Let the disciple “take up his cross daily,” says the Lord. To put forth some great effort to make some heroic sacrifice is comparatively easy, but to go on quietly day after day following Christ is the test. It is not the man that starts well that wins the race but the man that perseveres.

Finally, we read that Ruth “beat out what she had gleaned.” It is not enough to glean the barley and the wheat, it must be beaten out. The truth we gather whether through our private study, or from the ministry of others, must become the subject of prayer and meditation if it is to promote spiritual growth. The mere acquisition of truth will only puff up. It must be enjoyed in communion with the Lord if it is to lead into further knowledge of the Lord.

Thus, in order to make spiritual progress, a condition of soul is called for that is marked by subjection, diligence, perseverance, and meditation.