Where Is God in This?Sýnishorn

In the book of Ruth in the Bible, we’re told about a woman named Naomi. There was a time in her life when Naomi probably felt like she had it all. She was married and had not just one, but two sons. Then a famine swept across the land, and Naomi and her family had to leave their hometown of Bethlehem for Moab to escape it. While living in Moab, Naomi’s husband died. The Bible tells us that her two sons decided to marry foreign women, which at the time was against the commandment of God to the Israelites (Ezra 10:10). Then, the unthinkable happened—­Naomi’s sons died too.

Imagine how that must have felt. You’re away from home, unable to return, or you’ll starve to death. Then your husband, the leader of your family, dies. Next, your sons die. You’re too old to remarry and have more children. You’re vulnerable, alone, and without recourse.

I’m trekking right along with Naomi’s reaction in Ruth 1 when she says, “Don’t call me Naomi. . . . Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter” I don’t know about you, but I’ve been there. You get hurt over and over and over again so often that you become this sort of jaded, sarcastic version of who you used to be. And yeah, a lot of the time, it’s directed at people. But most of the time, like Naomi, it’s ultimately directed at God.

Naomi’s story didn’t end with her being bitter toward God. No, she went on to trust God and forgive those who had wronged her.

But the in-­between is so hard—the days, weeks, months, and years between our pain and our restoration. We can’t imagine a time in the near or distant future when we’ll stop feeling wounded.

I know that when you line up any hurt, pain, or rejection against these two truths, God's power, love, and consistency will always win. Because of that, you can find healing. Because of him, you can have hope. With these two truths leading your life, you will begin to recover in a meaningful way, far sooner than you would if you allowed your suffering to determine the rest of your life.

Ask God to remove any bitterness about your suffering from your heart and set you on the path toward recovery.