You Are Not Defined By Your Difficulty
"Don’t call me Naomi,” she told them. “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter.” Ruth 1:20 (NIV)
Maybe life has left you feeling bitter. You didn’t plan for the loss. You didn’t expect the disappointment. You were doing your best, and still, it all seemed to fall apart. You’re not alone. Naomi felt that way, too. In the book of Ruth, Naomi loses her husband. Then both of her sons die. Just like that, everything familiar and secure is gone. She’s left with heartbreak, grief, and one loyal daughter-in-law, Ruth, who refuses to leave her side.
When Naomi returns to her hometown, the people barely recognize her. And she tells them, “Don’t call me Naomi.” That name means pleasant. She says, “Call me Mara.” That means bitter. Her circumstances were so painful, she changed her identity to match her sorrow. Can you relate? Sometimes the pain feels so consuming that you start to believe it’s who you are. You’re not just in a bitter season—bitterness starts becoming your name. You feel like God has let you down, like He’s against you. Naomi even used a Hebrew word that means “to bring calamity” to describe what she believed God had done to her.
But here’s the truth: your pain is not the end of your story.
Just like with Naomi, God was still at work behind the scenes. He had not abandoned her. He was setting up something far greater than she could see in the moment. By the end of the book, the same women who heard Naomi call herself “Mara” are now praising God with her. Ruth marries Boaz, and they have a son, Obed. And that baby would become the grandfather of King David, from whose line Jesus Himself would one day come.
God gave Naomi more than a grandchild. He gave her redemption. He gave her restoration. She thought she was empty, but God was about to fill her again. And He’ll do the same for you. So if the bitterness of life has cut in on you, if you’ve started to believe God is distant or even against you, look again. El Shaddai is still holding you. Jehovah Jireh will still provide. Jehovah Shammah is still right there with you.
If you are facing a difficult time, pray this prayer today: “Father, thank You for never letting go of me, even when I’ve felt bitter, broken, or far from You. Help me to remember that my pain is not the end of my story, and that your promises are still true. When I feel empty, fill me. When I feel lost, remind me that you are near. Lord, I surrender every moment of disappointment, every unanswered question, and every weary place in my heart. Restore my hope. Renew my joy. Remind me that you are El Shaddai, my Almighty God. That you are Jehovah Jireh, my Provider. That you are Jehovah Shammah, the God who is here with me, even now. I choose to believe that you are working all things together for my good, and I declare by faith that I will run my race and not give up. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
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