Blessings work: what to give when you have nothing to give
With her two daughters-in-law she set out from the place where she had been living, and they took the road that would lead them back to Judah. But on the way, Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back to your mothers’ homes. And may the LORD bless you for your kindness to your husbands and to me.” —Ruth 1:7-8
Now, speaking of mobility, Naomi and her two daughters-in-law are on the move. Circumstances have configured this threesome and set them on the road. All three have lost their husbands to death, and widows in this culture are almost as low as you can go. They are returning to Naomi’s homeland, Judah, because the famine there has ended. [The famine is the reason Naomi, her husband, and their two sons first left Judah.] When this text occurs, the three are in Moab, which is the homeland for the daughters-in-law. The two would be foreigners in Judah and young widows. Maybe that is why Naomi, in route, suddenly stops and says, “Um, wait a minute. Second thought here. You two stay. Go on back to your moms’ houses.”
And then Naomi, who literally has nothing to offer, offers the very best she can to her daughters-in-law when she says, “And may the LORD bless you for your kindness to your husbands and to me.”
Naomi left Judah with no food. She became a foreigner (in an unwelcoming land, by the way, and if you’re thinking of border crossing being dangerous and loaded politically, um, yeah, you should be and I encourage you to advocate for the wellness of all, dear Christian). She loses her husband and then both sons to death. Now she’s returning to Judah with two additional widows, who, like she had been, are foreigners?
“Nope,” she says. “You two aren’t coming with me any further.” Then, like a parting gift, this woman with nothing offers them a blessing.
Sometimes we have nothing to give. Maybe our wallets are empty. Maybe our souls are empty. Maybe our grief is too great. Maybe our pessimism in the moment is too embedded. Whatever it is, when you have nothing to give, you still have something to give. That something is a blessing.
Don’t use blessings sparingly. Share them abundantly! Don’t hold back, pass them on freely! Blessings are our way of giving something we all need—and that’s an invitation for God to be present in the circumstances.
There is no doubt about it; Naomi’s life is at a low point here. But when you read the rest of her story, you know that God not only blesses her daughter-in-law Ruth; God also blesses Naomi.
Blessings work. Not in your way. Not on your timetable. But they do work.
Bless someone today. Not just when they sneeze, but with intentionality. Let God be thankful for you by asking that He be used in someone else’s life.
Yes, bless someone.
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PRAYER: Dear LORD, I really don’t have anything. By this I mean, it’s all from you, right? So please give me many people today whom I can bless in your Holy name.
And bless those crossing borders, wherever they are.
Amen.
Such a good lesson… seemingly small acts of kindness are so appreciated….. God is pleased and it feeds my soul…