WHAT NAOMI DID NOT SEE Part 2

One of the scriptures that I tether my life to, especially when I do not understand what is going on in my life, is Deuteronomy 29:29, "The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever". God has been kind enough to reveal to us many things in regards to His will, purposes, and doings but He has also chosen to conceal millions of micro reasons for the why and what He is doing. This is where most of us have great difficulty when we are in the midst of prolonged suffering or when we face sudden, devastating catastrophe. Naomi sure did.

Naomi suffered relentless and devastating loss. First a severe famine, then a move to pagan Moab, then the death of her husband, next the marriage of her sons to foreign wives, then ten years of apparent childlessness for both of her daughters-in-law, and finally the death of her sons. Only those who have suffered severe loss in their own lives can begin to relate to She says in response to all of this pain, "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?" (Ruth 1:20–21)

What Naomi does not see is that God is working even the most bitter providences for His good and glory (Romans 8:28; Genesis 50:20). She needed to open her eyes—the eyes of her heart—to the signs of his merciful purposes. Oh that when we see only bitter providence's in our lives like Naomi, that we would ask God to give us sight, light that would rise us to see beyond the darkness a wonderful, loving, kind, merciful, purposeful, sovereign God who works 24/7 (Psalm 121).

God’s providence is sometimes very very hard. You lose your job; your spouse or child dies; you are diagnosed with cancer; a friend betrays you; your spouse leaves you; a promise has been broken; a child leaves the faith that you raised him with. Most of us have experienced loss and all of us eventually will. It’s true, God had dealt bitterly with Naomi—at least in the short run, it could only feel like bitterness. It could only seem like utter darkness.

Perhaps someone will say, “It was all owing to the sin of going to Moab and marrying foreign wives.” Maybe so. But not necessarily, the text does not say so.

Psalm 34:19 says, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.” Neither the Old Testament nor the New Testament promises that believers will escape affliction in this life. “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22). "For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him"( Philippians 1:29)“Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator” (1 Peter 4:19). The one who suffered most deserved it least: Jesus Christ. There is no sure connection between our suffering and our behavior. Never forget that dear reader. It is not at all certain, therefore, that Naomi’s affliction was owing to God’s displeasure with her.

But for the sake of argument and practical application, let us suppose that Naomi’s calamity was owing to her disobedience. There certainly are times where we reap what we sow (Galatians 6:7-8) and whom the Lord loves He chastens (Hebrews 12:7-11). Then this makes the story of Naomi doubly encouraging because it shows that God is willing and able even to turn His judgments into mercies and to turn our sorrows into joys. If Ruth was brought into the family by sin, it is doubly astonishing that she is made the grandmother of David and ancestor of Jesus Christ. Don’t ever think that the sin of your past means there is no hope for your future.

Not only does God reign in all the affairs of men, and not only is His providence sometimes hard, but in all His works His purposes are for the good and the greater happiness of His people. Who would have imagined that in the worst of all times—God was quietly moving in the tragedies of a single family to prepare the way for the greatest king of Israel?

But not only that, He was working to fill Naomi and Ruth and Boaz and their friends with great joy. If anything painful has fallen on you to make your future look hopeless, learn from Ruth that God is at work for you right now to give you a future and a hope. Trust him. Wait patiently. The ominous clouds are big with mercy and will break with blessing on your head.

When you believe in the sovereignty of God and that He loves to work mightily for those who trust Him, it gives a freedom, boldness, joy, and courage that isn’t abandoned and cannot be shaken in hard times. Hope for the future gives us an amazing power in the present. Lose hope and you lose life; gain hope and even if you are surrounded by death, life and power comes to take you through whatever you are going through triumphantly.

“As a Christian is never out of the reach of God’s hand, so he is never out of the view of God’s eye.” Thomas Watson

Pastor Bill