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Be grateful for your blessings
'I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty...' Ruth 1:21
When it comes to valuable life-lessons, the book of Ruth is right up there. For the next few days we're gonna dig into it... When famine came to Bethlehem, Naomi, her husband and two sons moved to Moab where the economy was thriving.
What they hoped would be a short stay turned into ten years. The lads married two local girls, Ruth and Orpah. Then the unthinkable happened; Naomi's husband and both sons died! As you might expect she was absolutely gutted. She heard that things were back on the up in Bethlehem so she decided to go home. After arriving back safely she said, 'I went out full, and the Lord has brought me home again empty' (NKJV).
She was choking on the irony that she'd left a land of nothing for a land of plenty and come back with even less than she set out with. The truth is, you can be blessed and not know it. You never miss the water till the tap runs dry! Only as you look back do you realise that what you have is much more important than the things you don't have. Have you been saying, 'I'll be happy when...'?
Forget it, happiness doesn't come from getting what you want, it comes from appreciating what God's given you. So take a few minutes today to put down that wish list and just say some simple thank yous.
written by Bob Gass
'I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty...' Ruth 1:21
When it comes to valuable life-lessons, the book of Ruth is right up there. For the next few days we're gonna dig into it... When famine came to Bethlehem, Naomi, her husband and two sons moved to Moab where the economy was thriving.
What they hoped would be a short stay turned into ten years. The lads married two local girls, Ruth and Orpah. Then the unthinkable happened; Naomi's husband and both sons died! As you might expect she was absolutely gutted. She heard that things were back on the up in Bethlehem so she decided to go home. After arriving back safely she said, 'I went out full, and the Lord has brought me home again empty' (NKJV).
She was choking on the irony that she'd left a land of nothing for a land of plenty and come back with even less than she set out with. The truth is, you can be blessed and not know it. You never miss the water till the tap runs dry! Only as you look back do you realise that what you have is much more important than the things you don't have. Have you been saying, 'I'll be happy when...'?
Forget it, happiness doesn't come from getting what you want, it comes from appreciating what God's given you. So take a few minutes today to put down that wish list and just say some simple thank yous.
written by Bob Gass
