Today’s devotion comes from Ruth 1:19-22.
“So they both went until they came to Bethlehem. And when they had come to Bethlehem, all the city was stirred because of them, and the women said, “Is this Naomi?” She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the LORD has witnessed against me and the Almighty has afflicted me?”
So Naomi returned, and with her Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, who returned from the land of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.” Ruth 1:19-22.
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Naomi cried out: “I went out full, but the LORD has brought me back empty.”
Naomi is not alone. The book of Psalms is full of such cries to the LORD. The cries can be generalized as “Why has this happened?!” We may cry at times too: “Why has this happened to me?!“
But, we may not realize all that the LORD did for us. We also may forget some of our literal and figurative tears, because in addition to the LORD delivering us, the LORD is so good that He also dries our tears on our face and calms our hurt feelings in our heart.
Let us consider the cry of Naomi. Naomi cried out: “I went out full, but the LORD has brought me back empty.” But, Naomi did not go out full; “there was a famine in the land.” The stomachs of her and her family were so empty that they left their home in Judah “to sojourn in the land of Moab”. Ruth 1:1. Thus, the LORD delivered Naomi and her family from the famine. And, the LORD did not bring Naomi back empty. The LORD brought Naomi back to Judah where there was now food “at the beginning of barley harvest” and with Ruth, her daughter-in-law, who was better to Naomi than seven sons and who would give birth to a son who would be an ancestor to Jesus.
At the end of the book of Ruth, we read: “Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed is the LORD who has not left you without a redeemer today, and may his name become famous in Israel. May he also be to you a restorer of life and a sustainer of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you and is better to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.” Ruth 4:14-15.
And, there is hope for us too!
“I waited patiently for the LORD;
And He inclined to me and heard my cry.
2 He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay,
And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm.
3 He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God;
Many will see and fear
And will trust in the LORD.
4 How blessed is the man who has made the LORD his trust,
And has not turned to the proud, nor to those who lapse into falsehood.
5 Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders which You have done,
And Your thoughts toward us;
There is none to compare with You.
If I would declare and speak of them,
They would be too numerous to count.” Psalm 40:1-5.
“I will fill the soul of the priests with abundance,
And My people will be satisfied with My goodness,” declares the LORD.” Jeremiah 31:14.
“5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You have anointed my head with oil;
My cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,
And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.” Psalm 23:5-6.
“11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield;
The LORD gives grace and glory;
No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.
12 O LORD of hosts,
How blessed is the man who trusts in You!” Psalm 84:11-12.
“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.” Romans 8:28-30.
Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions 