Blessings are expected by God’s children. And we are to recognize and praise God for His blessings in our lives. However, we need to acknowledge Jesus Christ ~ that He is to be blessed by those He has redeemed. “˜Listen’ to what the writer of Ruth says about blessings…
(NIV) Ruth 4:16 “Then Naomi took the child, laid him in her lap and cared for him.”
***Naomi became Obed’s “˜Nanny’, his nurse. The blessing which Naomi received was a grandchild she cherished and nurtured. God’s plan for Naomi should not cause me to be bitter or resentful if God’s plan has been different for me. There are many couples who have not been able to have children, there are many grandparents who have not had the opportunity to live near their beloved grandchildren.
What can you and I remember about our circumstances? God’s plan for you and me fit into His perfect plan for eternity. We live in the “˜here and now’ but His thoughts are higher than our thoughts…who knows what God has done through your life that affects others eternity?
You and I should not compare ourselves, or our circumstances to anyone else’s. Your life and circumstances are unique to you. How will you now trust God?
(NASB) Ruth 4:17 “The neighbor women gave him a name, saying, “˜A son has been born to Naomi!’ So they named him Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David.”
***The book of Ruth began with the bitterness of Naomi. And at the end of the book her bitterness has been exchanged for hope.
Hope that is not wishful thinking is having a living hope in Jesus Christ. Not only to save us from our sins but to live life to the full, each day.
Is there a bitterness which needs to be exchanged in your life for hope today? Perhaps you know of someone that breaks your heart for the bitterness they carry? Pray for them, that their bitterness will be exchanged for hope in the living God.
(NASB) 1 Peter 1:3-5 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,
5 who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”
