Lay It on Me

12 / L AY I T ON M E

While there, he and his two sons, both of whom had taken Moabite women for wives, died. As if the devastating feeling of lack was not enough, now Naomi, Orpah and Ruth were widows. Want and separation consumed the lives of the three widows left to carry on in Moab. Tragedies, such as famine and death, move people either closer to God or further from Him. Naomi, for example, was a strong woman who, instead of being broken, became resentful. Yet, the same set of circumstances that brought Ruth into the family would also produce the royal lineage of Israel. When Naomi and her husband fled with their two sons to escape the famine in Judah, she never knew that 10 years later she would return, a broken, depressed and bitter woman. Who did she feel was responsible for this? Naomi revealed this when she said, "The Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me" (Ruth 1:20). Tragedy had caused her to lose her vision, her purpose and her concept of God. Famine can test your faith and resolve, and death can separate you not only from the one you love, but can separate your faith from the giver of life. Too often we blame God for every tragedy that happens. Life, once sweet, can suddenly turn painful. The same sun that melts wax, hardens clay. The victories of today can turn into the sorrows of tomorrow. But if we open our hearts to the story of Ruth, we can understand how God plans His long term purpose in the midst of trouble. We can understand how we may better deal with these unexpected turns in life.