Ruth 1:19-22 New International Version (NIV)
19 So the two women went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them, and the women exclaimed, “Can this be Naomi?”
20 “Don’t call me Naomi,[a]” she told them. “Call me Mara,[b] because the Almighty[c] has made my life very bitter. 21 I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The Lord has afflicted[d] me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me.”
22 So Naomi returned from Moab accompanied by Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law, arriving in Bethlehem as the barley harvest was beginning.
Thursday, October 29 Do you think that Naomi is correct in her assessment of God’s handling of her life? Did God actually bring “calamity” upon her? Honestly, there is no way to answer that question. We can ramble on about the reality of sin in the world or try to come up with some simplistic response, but no answer will ever satisfy. If someone you loved died and I offered you the real, accurate reason for why they died would it change how you felt? Would mere knowledge change the loss and grief? No. At the end of the day we do not know the mind of God outside of Jesus. In Jesus we see what God really thinks about us. In the cross and resurrection we are shown the ultimate truth and the depth of God’s love for us. As Jesus said: “Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works.” (John 14:10). Faith is the invitation, the calling, to trust that what Jesus says and promises is more true, more trustworthy, and more real than anything else in this world, even death!