I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people. I am the LORD your God.
Leviticus 26:12-13
Here are two more principles for growing in faith in the midst of sorrow.
Remember that the LORD has made a covenant with you. “LORD” in four capital letters is the name used in relation to the covenant God made with His people. The LORD said, “I… will be your God, and you shall be my people” (26:12). Naomi speaks of God as the “Almighty,” recognising His sovereignty. But she speaks more about God as “the LORD,” recognising His unbreakable covenant with us.
God said, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned… For I am the LORD your God” (Isa. 43:2-3).
That’s what we hold on to. That covenant was sealed by the blood of God’s Son, who came into our world of sorrow to redeem us and to bring us into the everlasting joy of His presence.
Walk with the Man of Sorrows. Isaiah spoke about the Saviour who would come as a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief (53:3). Naomi’s words could easily describe the experience of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus could say, as no one else could ever say, “The hand of the LORD has gone out against me” (Ruth 1:13). Jesus could say, as no one else could ever say, “The Almighty has brought calamity upon me” (1:21).
If you can see that Jesus knows what grief is like, you will be drawn to walk with Him in your sorrow. Any path on which you come closer to Him will be blessed, even if it is a path you would never have chosen to walk.
What parallels do you see between your own sufferings and those of Jesus? How could this give you strength in times of trouble?
