Loss & Response – Naomi

Have you ever felt like you have nothing or that you have lost everything? That’s exactly how Naomi felt. Her husband had died leaving her with two sons. In time they married foreign girls from the land they were living in and after about ten years both of her sons died. There were no grandchildren to carry on the family name and Naomi was away from her homeland with big decisions to be made.

She decided to return to her native land and informed her daughter-in-laws. Naomi encouraged both of them to return to their families and start a new life saying, “it’s more bitter for me than for you, the Lord’s hand is against me.”

We can all agree that Naomi had experienced extreme loss and devistation. She found herself in a place she never imagined herself to be and she did not want to be there.

Loss is never an experience we want to have, but it is a reality that, in time, will happen to us all in some way. How we respond will either add to the pain or open our hearts for God’s leading through it.

Naomi felt that God was against here but when you read the rest of the story you see that He had other plans for her that she would never have expereinced without the pain and loss.

She chose bitterness as her response and even called herself “Mara” when speaking to her friends which amplified the attitude of her heart. Her choice of bitterness narrowed her focus to only see what she didn’t have instead of seeing the blessings that were right in front of her, and with her, the whole time. For all her losses, she did still have something and that something was a friend.

God knows our pain and suffering and He always has purpose in and through it. We must choose to remember that He is a good, loving and faithful God and that He will work all things for the good of those who love Him.

Be Intentional about seeing your blessings amidst your pain.

Praises & Prayers

Father, I thank you for the reminder that we always have something to be thankful for. No matter what comes our way, You have Godly purpose and will be with us. Help us to choose to trust in You and remember how much You love us. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Messages from His Word

Romans 8:28

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose