Hope & Faith

"the Almighty has afflicted me"

Ruth 1:21

Though the book is named after Ruth, it was Naomi speaking these words.  Naomi was kinda bummed when she said this.  Which is understandable, as she had lost her husband and her two sons in a matter of a few years.  And because she didn't know what else to do, she moved back from Moab, to Bethlehem, as she had heard that the famine from which she and her husband fled, had ended in Bethlehem.  Her two daughters-in-law, Orpah and Ruth, wanted to accompany her, but she urged them to return to their own families.  She didn't know what there was for herself in Bethlehem, much less for them.  "It grieves me very much for your sakes that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me!"  See?  Bummed.

Orpah was convinced of Naomi's logic, and returned home to Moab, but Ruth would not.  She insisted on going to Bethlehem with Naomi.  And today's highlighted verse is what Naomi said to the women of Bethlehem upon her return home.  They were all excited to see her coming home, saying, "Is this Naomi?"

But Naomi replied, "Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara."  She wanted them to call her Mara because Mara means "bummed".

Kidding. 

The name Mara means "bitter" and she wanted to be called that because she felt the Lord had treated her bitterly.  "I went out full and the Lord has brought me home again empty... the Lord has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me."

I've always thought of Naomi ~ excuse me, Mara ~  as a bitter woman.  Perhaps because she practically requested to be thought of that way.  And yet I've never doubted her faith.  She spoke of what the Lord had done in her life.  She knew the Lord existed, and acknowledged His power and sovereignty.  She clearly had faith.

What she didn't have, was hope.  Her bitterness about what had happened to her was causing her to look to the future with pessimism.  And that, I think, is what saddens me about her. 

Things started to look up in chapter 2 of Ruth, but it wasn't until she saw God making things happen, that Naomi began to think something would happen.  I think, that even though she had faith in God, she didn't have hope in Him. 

Hope in Him is not the same thing as faith in Him.  Faith in Him as Lord, and your Savior, is necessary for salvation, for eternal life.  But hope in Him is about living a life of abundance right here and now.  It's about knowing for a fact that you are going to encounter difficult times, but also knowing they won't last, and that He's doing something amazing in and through you during those times.  Hope in Him is believing there's a Promised Land, of blessings and beauty, right here on earth.  Hope in Him is knowing He is with you and in you and loves you.  Cuz He is, and He does. 

I hope you have hope.

~ "I know the plans I have for you," 

declares the Lord,

"plans to prosper you and not to harm you, 

plans to give you a future, and a hope." ~

Jeremiah 29:11