Now is the time... To Say "No" To Bitterness

“Don’t call me Naomi (pleasant)”, she responded, “Instead call me Mara (bitter) for the Almighty has made life very bitter for me. I went away full but the Lord has brought me home empty.” Ruth 1:20-21

One of my husband’s favourite sayings is “Hindsight is a useless gift.” In other words it’s easy to look back on difficulties and see why something happened and what (if anything) we could have done to prevent it, but by then it is too late to do anything. We are left with “if onlys”; “if only I had done this,” or “if only I had not done that”, “if only I had listened to that advice”, if only……..

I wonder if Naomi regretted having left her home to go into a far country with her husband; a country which had robbed her not only of her husband but also the lives of her two sons. Yet at the time it had seemed the right thing to do.

The good thing was that she had gained 2 daughters-in-law, one of whom returned with her. Refusing to stay in her home country, she was determined to keep Naomi company on her return home. I wonder how Ruth felt though when she heard Naomi’s words to her kinfolk, “The Lord has brought me home empty.” I wonder if Ruth’s heart was grieved when she heard these words spoken out of the grief and bitterness of Naomi’s heart. Did she wonder why she’d made the sacrifice to leave her own homeland?

Sometimes in the heat of the moment we lose our perspective and our trust, as well as our thankfulness for God’s blessings. Our pain is so great that it casts a huge black shadow over our blessings. Bitterness will always blind us to blessings. Pain in our lives is inevitable but we must allow ourselves to process our pain and grief in a way that does not allow bitterness to take root in our heart. Hebrews 12:15 warns us to be careful and not allow any root of bitterness to spring up within us because it will cause trouble and affect others.

As we look back (with hindsight) we are able to see that, tragic as the situation was, God used it to bring Ruth, who was a gentile, into the lineage of Christ. She married Boaz and became the great grand-mother of King David into whose line Jesus, our Saviour, was born. Because of this Naomi also has a place of honour in history. God brought something special out of her tragedy.

Yes, we are allowed to grieve, be disappointed, feel hurt, anger and other emotions, but we should not allow them to become a foothold for bitterness because if we do, others will be affected and perhaps wounded by us.

Is there any grief or bitterness in your life today? If there is, will you bring it to Jesus and lay it at his feet? He is the One who will heal your heart and restore your peace and joy.

Prayer: Dear Lord, I bring my hurts, my disappointments and all my sorrows to you. Please heal my heart and remove any hint of bitterness that may be hiding there so that I can see what you want me to learn from these difficulties and not be blinded to your blessings. Amen