God Is More than Enough

Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread.

I'm Mike Whitmer and I entitle today's reading, God is More Than Enough. Ellen was on a tight budget, so she was glad to receive a Christmas bonus. That would have been enough, but when she deposited the money, she received another surprise. The teller said that as a Christmas present, the bank had deposited her January mortgage payment into her checking account. Now she and Trey could pay other bills and bless someone else with a Christmas surprise.

God has a way of blessing us beyond what we expect. In the book of Ruth, Naomi was bitter and broken by the death of her husband and sons. Her desperate situation was rescued by Boaz, a relative who married her daughter-in-law, Ruth, and provided a home for her and Naomi. That might have been all Naomi could hope for, but then God blessed Ruth and Boaz with a son. Now Naomi had a grandson to renew her life and sustain her in her old age.

That would have been enough. As the women of Bethlehem put it, Naomi has a son. Then little Obed grew and became the father of Jesse, the father of David. Naomi's family belonged to Israel's royal line, the most important dynasty in history.

That would have been enough. David, however, became the ancestor of Jesus. If we believe in Christ, we're in a similar position to Naomi. We had nothing until He redeemed us. Now we're fully accepted by our Father, who blesses us to bless others.

That's so much more than enough. Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from Ruth chapter 4, verses 9 through 17. Then the elders and all the people at the gate said, We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the family of Israel. May you have standing in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. Through the offspring the Lord gives you by this young woman, may your family be like that of Peres, whom Tamar bore to Judah. So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. When he made love to her, the Lord enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. The woman said to Naomi, Praise be to the Lord, who this day has not left you without a guardian redeemer. May He become famous throughout Israel.

He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth. Then Naomi took the child in her arms and cared for him. The women living there said, Naomi has a son, and they named him Obed.

He was the father of Jesse, the father of David. Let's pray. Lord Jesus, You are the Son of God, who loved me, died for me, and rose again. You are more than enough. In Your name we pray, amen. Today's encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries.