Is Bitter Bad?

If the Book of Ruth ended after Chapter 1, it might be better titled: The Book of Naomi. And here’s the thing about Naomi – the season of her life that we are privy to was really sad all the way up until the end. Living in a famine, traveling to an enemy land to survive, losing a husband, losing two sons, and the bleak hope of a homecoming living hand-to-mouth. If we’re playing the “who’s had it the hardest” game, I’m thinking Naomi is going to outdo most of us. I don’t envy Naomi’s loss, but I do envy Naomi’s honesty. She summarizes her loss this way in Ruth 1:21 – “I went away full, and the LORD has brought me back empty.” She’s not sugar-coating it, but she’s also not attributing it to chance or bad karma. She knows who’s in charge – “the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me” (1:21). El Shaddai, the Almighty Ruler of the Universe and Creator of All Things … He’s behind this, because He’s behind everything. R.C. Sproul wrote – “If there is one maverick molecule in all the universe, then God is not sovereign. And if God is not sovereign, He is not God.” Now this isn’t to say that man bears no responsibility for sinful choices, but even man’s foolishness cannot thwart the Sovereign’s rule. Oh, there’s mystery in this, make no mistake. But it’s also the kind of confidence that can name your bitterness and bitter circumstances within the rule of God in your life. Naomi’s in good company with the Psalmists who speak honestly of loss, abandonment, and pain, but end their songs and poems with the faint hope of God as their refuge and strength. I love Naomi because in her bitterness and pain she turns to God and not from God, even if all she can utter is heartache. That is honest faith!