Have you ever encountered people who moved from grace to grass? What was your reaction towards them? The experience of having it all and suddenly losing everything is not pleasant. There are many things that cause people to lose all that they possess. Mismanagement is one reason that leads to loss. For others, a series of misfortunes causes them to lose what they have. The prodigal son (Luke 15) lost all his possessions because he squandered everything in a bad lifestyle. On the other hand, Job (Job 1-2) was afflicted by the devil. Naomi’s predicament of losing all that she has made her consider returning to Bethlehem. Together with Ruth, the wife of Mahlon, the two ladies made the journey to Bethlehem. “So the two women went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them, and the women exclaimed, “Can this be Naomi?” (Ruth 1:19). Naomi’s first discomfort would be to see the whole town stirred by her presence. She would have obviously expected some reaction but she wouldn’t have expected the whole town to be stirred. Possibly, the physical state of Naomi then made the people talk about her. “Don’t call me Naomi,” she told them. “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. (Ruth 1:20) Instead of turning and responding, “Yes, this is Naomi”, she took a different approach. Naomi considered the meaning of her name and her current state. Naomi means PLEASANT but her current state was unpleasant. She chose to be called BITTER rather than pleasant and told the people this: “Don’t call me Naomi,” she told them. “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The Lord has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me.” (Ruth 1:20-21). Certainly, Naomi’s pain would have been difficult to bear. For her to refuse to be associated with PLEASANTNESS but accept BITTERNESS as her new identity stems from physical and emotional pain. Just like Naomi, some people experience a circle of unfortunate events that drains them of every bit of pleasantness in their lives. When you suddenly lose all that you have either by your own mistake or accidentally, the first reaction is to focus on the pain. There have been instances where believers, including myself have petitioned God about certain incidents in our lives. The usual reaction is “God, why me?” The truth is most of the painful experiences we go through can be best understood in eternity. For now, we can only hope in the Lord for His comfort. Naomi and Ruth experienced the pain of losing their loved ones. The experience of losing a loved one can be very painful. Naomi’s relocation to Moab was for sustenance and preservation; instead, she experienced a total loss. Thus, bitterness was a clear definition for her state. But, all hope was not lost for Naomi and Ruth. Naomi did not wear the garments of bitterness for long. Through the grace of God, Naomi’s story changed. God suddenly turned things around for the good of Naomi. Naomi’s blessings were indeed PLEASANT. Pain, loss, grief and illnesses have become part of our fallen world. Constantly, we are riddled with life-changing events. But the Lord does not leave us in the star of bitterness, when we cry up to Him, He restores our pleasantness. Jesus’ arrival was God’s bigger plan to rescue humanity from the clutches of pain and ultimately offer salvation to all men. Since we live in a fallen world (Genesis 3), we might have to daily battle with pain but God has already won the victory. We should therefore approach this battle with a victory mentality. We are called PLEASANT irrespective of what we go through. Jesus crushed BITTERNESS on the cross. With this understanding, we can look at unfortunate events with the mind of God. The Lord will bring to an end all Bitterness of our lives and He will make an end of it. “Affliction will not rise up a second time.” (Nahum 1:9b NKJV). In Luke 4:14-30, Jesus reads the words of Isaiah 61 and proclaimed that scripture has been fulfilled. “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, Because the Lord has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.” ?Isaiah 61:1-3 NKJV) Through Jesus, God defeated sin and pain and gave us victory. We are no more slaves of sin but children of God.
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