We all know life can be disappointing, sad, frustrating, lonely, and it can be hard to find the motivation to keep going sometimes.

Naomi was a woman who understood pain, loss, and grief, and she was bitter because of it.

Naomi's name in Hebrew means "Pleasant," but she no longer felt like her life was pleasant or that she was pleasant. She wanted to have a name that she could identify with, which was “Bitter” or “Mara.”

The author only refers to Naomi as Mara when quoting Naomi in her own words. And if we believe that this scripture was written by God (2 Timothy 3:16), that means that God never accepted that name for her.

God had plans already in motion to sustain her, to restore her AND her family even while she was complaining about Him.

Sometimes pain can cloud our perspective and keep us from seeing glimpses of God’s goodness.

In the midst of pain and hopelessness, God is ALWAYS at work to sustain us in unexpected ways.

God Sustains us by...
- PROVIDING us with what we NEED in unexpected ways!
- INVITING us into HIS WORK in unexpected ways!
- BEIGN SOVEREIGN!

There are God-instances in Naomi's story and in yours!