Daily Devotion 8/23/18
Ruth 1:19-22 So the two women went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them, and the women exclaimed, “Can this be Naomi?”
20 “Don’t call me Naomi,” she told them. “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. 21 I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The Lord has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me.”
22 So Naomi returned from Moab accompanied by Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law, arriving in Bethlehem as the barley harvest was beginning.
There are going to be situations in life that cause us to mourn. However, we want to guard against becoming bitter. Look at what Naomi’s bitterness caused her to do: to be thankless. She says that she went away full but came back empty because of God. Guess what she was forgetting? Ruth. The believers in Bethlehem. The fact that God provided food in Bethlehem so she could return home. All of that was forgotten because she was bitter toward God. Hardships happen. But when hardships come, God doesn’t abandon you. If we realize that and believe that, we’ll see how God is still providing for us in the midst of the hardships. Then instead of being bitter, we can be thankful. Where do you see God providing for you today even if today is filled with struggles? Take a second and thank him for all he provides.
Heavenly Father, thank you for everything that you do for me. Even when hardships come, you continue to be faithful to me and provide for my needs. Thank you for Christian friends and family. Thank you for the encouragement they offer to me and for building me up in your love. Help me to do the same for others. Amen.