From “The Smell of Hard Work and Success”
Two posts ago, we first visited Naomi, who, the LORD providentially led home to Israel from Moab. Further, Naomi arrived home during a God-provided harvest.
This post is based on this amazing article, “Bitterness the Silent Saboteur”. I commend it to you or pass it on to a friend.
Naomi, reading from a bitter script in Ruth 1:13 KJV — declared that the hand of the LORD had “gone out against her” and that she had returned home “empty.”
Naomi understands that the LORD is ultimately in control of her life. She knows that God has orchestrated her all the events she has endured. Her emotional response is to paint God’s character and demeanor toward her His covenant daughter as punitive, pitiless, and mercilessly cruel.
In other words, Naomi is bitter.
It’s as if Naomi is saying, “I am home but I am homeless, husbandless and and my heart is hurting.”
What is bitterness?
“Bitterness is not just a strong emotion—it is a condition of the soul,” indicates the author of Bitterness the Silent Saboteur,
“Psychologically, it is a chronic state of resentment, often resulting from unresolved hurt, perceived injustice, betrayal, disappointment, or unmet expectations. It is a combination of anger and helplessness, in which the person feels wronged but [is] unable or unwilling to let go,” according to Emotional Well-Being Conference.
Before we judge Naomi harshly we must look at her reality. What had she lost? How had the LORD moved in her life?
Though deceased, Elimelech’s and her sons presence had represented:
- a significant part of Naomi’s identity,
- a source of respect and
- good economic standing in the community,
- economic, social and physical protection, and, of course,
- love and companionship; while
- Mahlon and Chilion, her two sons, were
- her pride and joy AND
- her legacy.
Naomi had a right to be bitterly angry, resentful in her mind, body, and soul.
You, too, have a right to be bitter, to hold on to the anger and resentment at what was done to you.
BUT will the right to be bitter be enough for you to live an abundant life?
Acknowledge Reality and Accept Help
Upon arrival in Israel together, Naomi and Ruth are 2 poor women in need of an income stream.
When Ruth asked could she go to glean in a field, Naomi gave her permission.
To glean was to pick up leftover grain from a landowners field. It was a form of social charity or relief for the very poor.
Naomi’s permission to do so was also a way for her to accept help and her current situation; that of poor, widowed woman.
It takes courage for one to accept that life has changed. It takes courage to acknowledge that the LORD has allowed my life to change.
I went out full and the Lord hath brought me home again empty: why then call ye me Naomi, seeing the Lord hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me? Ruth 1:21
Yes, Naomi’s acceptance of her new reality is spoken with bitter grief but it is also an acknowledgement that God sovereignly controls events.
If God is in control, completely sovereign over all, then, YES, He did allow the tragedy.
Bitterness, however, temporarily blinded Naomi to the reality that God is also good. The goodness of the LORD is one of his attributes.
- Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. 1 Chronicles 16:34
- Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Psalm 23:6
- Good and upright is the Lord. Psalm 25:8
- I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Psalm 27:13
- The Lord is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works. Psalm 145:9
- If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! Matthew 7:11
- No one is good but One, that is, God. Mark 10:18
- Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. James 1:17
We who are born again, true Christians can be dishonest with ourselves, one another and with God about our most challenging feelings.
However, and in contrast, I love misbehaving women!
Naomi’s “outburst” so clearly implies that she expected “better” from God than I got.
Isn’t that your issue and mine?
We expect God to move, to make a way in a certain manner and, instead, we are disappointed and disillusioned that the God that we imagined to control somehow, is in fact omnipotent and cannot be manipulated.
Indeed, the True and Living LORD will never tolerate idols.
As Naomi eventually discovered through the kindness of Boaz and the loyalty of Ruth, the God who allowed her emptiness was the same God preparing her restoration.
Trusting in God’s goodness doesn’t mean ignoring the pain; it meant believing that His mercy is active even when it’s invisible.
When we anchor our souls in the truth that God is intrinsically good—not just when life feels good—the “silent saboteur” of bitterness can lose its power.
We can stop clutching our resentment as a shield or using it as a weapon and instead open our hands to receive the “good and perfect gifts” He still has in store.
Like Naomi, you may have gone out full and returned empty, but I encourage you to choose to believe in the LORD’s goodness today.
Allow God to turn your bitter “Mara” back into a life of grace and provision proving that His heart toward you is always one of redemption and restoration.
Blessings to you and to me as we continue to wait on the LORD.
Kimberly
Help! Love, MOM 
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