Ruth 2:17-23 (ESV)
So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley. And she took it up and went into the city. Her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. She also brought out and gave her what food she had left over after being satisfied. And her mother-in-law said to her, “Where did you glean today? And where have you worked? Blessed be the man who took notice of you.” So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked and said, “The man’s name with whom I worked today is Boaz.” And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by the Lord, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!” Naomi also said to her, “The man is a close relative of ours, one of our redeemers.” And Ruth the Moabite said, “Besides, he said to me, ‘You shall keep close by my young men until they have finished all my harvest.’” And Naomi said to Ruth, her daughter-in-law, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, lest in another field you be assaulted.” So she kept close to the young women of Boaz, gleaning until the end of the barley and wheat harvests. And she lived with her mother-in-law.
One good day after so many challenges over the previous years, both Naomi and Ruth were grateful and did not want to squander the opportunity. Are you skeptical like I am sometimes, maybe not being grateful for the blessings (small and big) that you experience on a daily basis? When you are going through something that seems insurmountable and you feel there is no way something good could happen again, are you grateful when that good thing comes?
It is so easy to be overcome by the negative things in our life, whether they truly are difficult or just small inconveniences that we don’t want to deal with. Maybe it is financial struggles, illness, loss of a loved one, or something as simple as your kids demanding your attention the moment you get home from work, and you are already exhausted after a long day. Whatever it is, an attitude of thanksgiving and gratitude will always be the best medicine for pain, anger, or anything else.
When we are thankful and grateful for things both big and small, it is almost impossible to continue to dwell in negativity. Having an attitude of gratitude does not mean that everything will be magically fixed. Your whole outlook on the situation, however, and how God has provided as well as the hope that this mindset shift will radically change your heart posture, can bring new life to your spirit.
Take some time today to specifically write down or verbalize some of the things you have to be grateful for, and thank God for those things. Remember also that in the midst of everyday life, He is still sovereign.