Ruth‬ ‭1‬:‭20‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“But she said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.”

‭‭Ruth‬ ‭1‬:‭20‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

When Naomi made the right decision to go back to the land where the Lord’s blessings are, the people greeted them with joy and excitement.

While the city was excited about their arrival, Naomi felt condemned, undeserved, and rejected because of her loss.

The word of God declares that this is the day that the Lord had made and we are called to rejoice in it.

Naomi did not need to ruin her welcome celebration, and Naomi did not need to give the city the wrong atmosphere.

All Naomi needed to do is to look forward to the new that the Lord is doing instead of looking at her losses.

But thank God for Ruth who looked forward to the new and brought the blessings to the entire house.

Naomi is from a believer's background versus Ruth who is a Moabite and from an unbelieving family.

The one who knows God, Naomi draws back with sorrow but Ruth who came to know God through marriage was moving forward and taking hold of the blessings of the Lord.

How often do we who know God drown ourselves with sorrows, failures of the past, and mistakes while God made a way for us to live in His blessings.

So often we retreat to our lack, our disappointments, and our old ways when God is constantly drawing us to His abundance which is in Him.

Naomi even wanted people to call her bitter instead of beautiful and pleasant. We sometimes say the same thing about ourselves.

God has called us His delight but we often call ourselves with so many unpleasant names.

It all happens when we look at the bad things in life. When all we see, speak and look is the bad things in life we are embracing death.

This is the reason we are called to fix our eyes on the Lord, to press on toward our call in Christ Jesus so that we will embrace life.

Jesus is not leading us from behind. Jesus is leading us in front.

His word lights up our path, and His Spirit shows us the way.

Let us look forward to Christ and see the wonderful things that God has prepared for all of us.

Blessings

Ps Ambrose