TRUST GOD’S PLAN: Naomi’s Story of Loss and Hope

Hey friends, how are you today? Yeah… this is the last week of the official winter season. Thank You, Lord. Our week began with blue skies, not chilly weather and no snow on the ground. Spring had sprung and it was good. Today, the day begun with 18° with a windchill of -1°. Snow has completely covered the ground. Winter decided she is not quite ready to hand over the baton to spring. It’s okay, let winter have her time. Eventually the flowers will bloom, the leaves on the trees will bud.

Sometimes life looks like the weather. Up and down, in and out, without time to breathe. Naomi and her husband (Elimeleck) along with their two sons left their home in Bethlehem. They left to escape a famine in the land of Judah. They went to Moab, where they intended to settle ‘for a while’.

Can you relate? Is the grass greener on the other side?

Although the final decision to leave or stay was his, I’m sure she made her preference known. Even in the leaving, do we not talk to the Lord even more so? We share with Him, our cares and worries. The uncertainties of the future. We go, but perhaps with a bit of hesitation. Or just maybe, she looked into the small faces of her sons and wondered whether they would survive the famine. Perhaps she was convinced the leaving was the right choice.

Have you ever regretted a decision only it turned out for the best?

Then her husband dies and leaves her with two boys. Now what? Does she go back? Back to what? Does she stay? By herself? Now doing the work of two. What to do, Lord… what to do? She stays and her boys marry girls from the neighborhood. Thank You, Lord. Perhaps even grandchildren, yes… she would like that.

Except… life throws Naomi another curveball and her God allow it. She buries not one, but both sons, while in that foreign country. Her hands are empty. What’s she supposed to do now? She left a country which brought a suggestion of death due to the famine. Here she is, years later and her fear has come to pass. All her loves are dead. She is all alone. Her heart is broken.

Can you relate? How do yo handle crises?

She begged and cried before her God. Perhaps, she thought the silence meant her God was absent. Perhaps she thought that He had abandoned her. He, too, left. She went from ‘pleasant‘ to ‘bitter’. What is life if God has abandoned me? Can you relate? Have you ever felt like God has abandoned you? Naomi felt hopeless. She came into Moab full but now she leaves empty (Ruth 1:21).

Does God not love her anymore? How could He take everything from her? She now calls herself ‘Mara’. She believes that the ‘Hand of God had gone out against her’. Her world had shrunk from four 4️⃣ plus two 2️⃣ wives. All she has left are two wives and they do not belong to her.

I wish I could whisper in her ear the promise of God’s unfailing faithfulness. I would tell her that’s not the end of her story. I would remind her that God never gives us what we deserve. He extends His grace and mercy without fail. That this was always part of His plan. Life hurts right now, Naomi. Go ahead Naomi, cry. But ‘joy comes in the morning’.

Today, the Lord gave us a glimpse of the future. Jesus tells us that He ‘went to prepare a place for us. He tells us that He will come again for us. He tells us of the eternal life we have through Him.

Today, the Lord allows us to see HIM, through His Word. Through the life of Naomi, we see the end of her story. We know that that it was always part of God’s plan for them to leave Judah. It was His plan for her husband to die. It was His plan for her sons to die. Believe it or not, the Lord was not busy rearranging her life. He was not trying to put fires out. He always knew the unfolding chapters of Naomi’s life. Even her bitter days were known to Him from the beginning of time.

Winter has returned to our neck of the woods. It is a miserly 20° and windy. Sometimes, life throws us a curveball. In fact, at times, life seemingly sends us curveball after curveball. We cry and plead with the Lord for salvation during the crisis. But the answer we want doesn’t come. Where are You, Lord?

Where are you, Brenda? That’s the question. The Lord promised to never leave me nor forsake me. He keeps His promises. Where did I go? For a minute there, my problems were bigger than my God. My crisis threatened to overwhelm my soul.

Satan said God doesn’t love me anymore. He said if He did, He would have sent the ‘help’ I needed. He said I can’t rely on the Lord’s faithfulness. He said I can’t trust His promises. He claimed our God wouldn’t stay. For a minute there, my heart almost believed. The struggle to hold onto the truth was almost impossible.

But in spite of the snow on the ground, I heard it. The sound of a woodpecker. In spite of the snow of the ground, I saw it. The blues skies with the sun softly gliding along the rooftops. And as I recite the promises of God, hope is restored. The crisis remains, but the God who promised remains faithful.

The chapters of life are unfolding. This is not the end of the story. He was faithful yesterday and the day before that. He remains faithful today. Just today. We hold tight to the promises of our God. We trust Him today.

We are loved unconditionally. Because of the Lord’s great love for us, He gives joy and peace and rest. Troubles will come. But our God is bigger. Troubles will come. But our God is greater. Troubles will come. But our God is mighty and more powerful. Trust Him.