This is similar to another godly woman’s response when she was not able to have children. In 1 Samuel 1, the phrase: “And the Lord had closed her womb” is repeated twice. This is one of the hardest lessons we will ever learn. Our problems are given to us by the Lord Himself. It is God who is behind the circumstances of life. We’d rather blame it all on Satan, or on someone else. But it is God who allows good things and bad things to come into our lives. God is in charge and as such we should remember Ecclesiastes 7:14: “When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the other.”
Some of you have had to face the bewildering loss of a spouse, a child, or a parent. I can’t identify with your pain, but God can. Perhaps you feel like Naomi did when she wanted her name changed to Mara because you feel marred by what has happened to you. As painful as what you are experiencing is, don’t lose sight of the fact that Naomi’s emptiness eventually allowed her to adore the Almighty. She was bitter but got better because when she was empty she came to the place of knowing that God is enough! Naomi was willing to entrust her pain and bitterness to El Shaddai, believing that He would come through for her, even if all her questions remained unanswered. Somehow God was providentially weaving His purposes through her problems and her pain.
In the midst of her bitterness, she continued to walk with God, even when her two sons married Moabites. She worshiped the true God when the entire culture bowed to Baal. She made the most of her situation by teaching Ruth about God. She had the courage to return to her land and later boldly told Ruth to make a marriage proposal to Boaz. She launched her matchmaking arrangement but she also knew how to be patient and wait on the Lord as she said in 3:18, “Be patient, my daughter, until we see what happens.”
She submitted to God’s sovereign plan and eventually had the joy of nurturing a baby boy named Obed, who became the grandfather of King David. Imagine that scene from Ruth 3:16: “Then Naomi took the child, laid him in her lap, and cared for him.” That’s a picture of how El Shaddai can meet us at our point of bitterness and make us better. He is the powerful God who nourishes and satisfies His children, but not until they admit their emptiness. It’s when we are empty that we can see that God is enough!
3. Job was broken. Sometimes we’re burdened because we think God is not going to come through for us. Other times we’re bitter because things have not worked out like we want. On occasion, we’re completely broken because everything has been taken from us. That’s what happened to Job. Interestingly, of the 48 occurrence of El Shaddai in the Old Testament, 31 of them are found in the Book of Job.
This book begins very simply but with incredible speed as Job’s brokenness comes about very quickly. The opening verses serve as an introduction and give us three truths about Job (special thanks to Ray Pritchard for these points).
This is similar to another godly woman’s response when she was not able to have children. In 1 Samuel 1, the phrase: “And the Lord had closed her womb” is repeated twice. This is one of the hardest lessons we will ever learn. Our problems are given to us by the Lord Himself. It is God who is behind the circumstances of life. We’d rather blame it all on Satan, or on someone else. But it is God who allows good things and bad things to come into our lives. God is in charge and as such we should remember Ecclesiastes 7:14: “When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the other.”
Some of you have had to face the bewildering loss of a spouse, a child, or a parent. I can’t identify with your pain, but God can. Perhaps you feel like Naomi did when she wanted her name changed to Mara because you feel marred by what has happened to you. As painful as what you are experiencing is, don’t lose sight of the fact that Naomi’s emptiness eventually allowed her to adore the Almighty. She was bitter but got better because when she was empty she came to the place of knowing that God is enough! Naomi was willing to entrust her pain and bitterness to El Shaddai, believing that He would come through for her, even if all her questions remained unanswered. Somehow God was providentially weaving His purposes through her problems and her pain.
In the midst of her bitterness, she continued to walk with God, even when her two sons married Moabites. She worshiped the true God when the entire culture bowed to Baal. She made the most of her situation by teaching Ruth about God. She had the courage to return to her land and later boldly told Ruth to make a marriage proposal to Boaz. She launched her matchmaking arrangement but she also knew how to be patient and wait on the Lord as she said in 3:18, “Be patient, my daughter, until we see what happens.”
She submitted to God’s sovereign plan and eventually had the joy of nurturing a baby boy named Obed, who became the grandfather of King David. Imagine that scene from Ruth 3:16: “Then Naomi took the child, laid him in her lap, and cared for him.” That’s a picture of how El Shaddai can meet us at our point of bitterness and make us better. He is the powerful God who nourishes and satisfies His children, but not until they admit their emptiness. It’s when we are empty that we can see that God is enough!
3. Job was broken. Sometimes we’re burdened because we think God is not going to come through for us. Other times we’re bitter because things have not worked out like we want. On occasion, we’re completely broken because everything has been taken from us. That’s what happened to Job. Interestingly, of the 48 occurrence of El Shaddai in the Old Testament, 31 of them are found in the Book of Job.
This book begins very simply but with incredible speed as Job’s brokenness comes about very quickly. The opening verses serve as an introduction and give us three truths about Job (special thanks to Ray Pritchard for these points).