“Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went away full, and the LORD has brought me back empty.”
Ruth 1:20-21
Here are two more truths we learn from how Naomi navigates her grief.
Grief distorts. “I went away full, and the LORD has brought me back empty” (1:21). When Naomi left Bethlehem, she had a husband and two sons. None of them are with her now. When she left, she may have been prosperous, but she came back in poverty. So, what Naomi says is true, but it is not the whole truth.
Why did she go away? She went away because there was a famine. Life was not as full as her grieving memory was suggesting. If the Lord brought her back empty, then who is this beside her? Ruth has made an extraordinary commitment to her.
Grief embellishes what God has given in the past and it loses sight of what God is giving now. Making much of what God has given will help you to bear what He has taken away.
Bitterness lurks at sorrow’s door. “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara” (1:20). Naomi means “pleasant,” and Mara means “bitter.” Was Naomi bitter or is she saying that her experience had been bitter? There’s a big difference. There may have been times when bitterness got the better of her. But it did not win the battle with this godly woman.
When you endure sorrow, watch out for bitterness. If you allow it to grow, it will take hold and spill out into the lives of others. You are a redeemed child of God. Bitterness has no place in your life. Put it away!
Are there any areas of your life where the seeds of bitterness are beginning to grow? Ask God to help you root them out.
