Hurting, Honest & Hopeful

(Morning Service)

Text: Ruth 1:19-22

We’re shifting our focus from the character of Ruth to Naomi, the one who hurts the most in this story. This morning we’ll see Naomi returning to her home town and feeling the heavy weight of her grief and loss. While we may not face the exact suffering Naomi does, we certainly will face incredibly hard times and likewise, find ourselves in the pit of bitter circumstances. But what does Naomi do with her pain? If we can see how Naomi goes through her bitter circumstances then we can find help to respond and look to the same places as she does.

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“So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them. And the women said, “Is this Naomi?” She said to them, “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. Why call me Naomi, when the LORD has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?”

So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabite her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.

(Ruth 1:19–22 ESV)”