PLEASANT-BITTER-PLEASANT

I am reading in Ruth, and Naomi goes through a transformation in these four short chapters.  These chapters cover many years of Naomi's life, and she is changed through circumstances, then changed through God's grace.  We too can learn from this lesson.  Naomi means "pleasant".  This is how she was in Bethlehem-Judah where she grew up and married her husband.  But they "sojourned" into Moab.  That means to visit, but they actually stayed many years.  There her sons grew up and married women of Moab.  There her husband got sick and died, and then her two sons also got sick and died.  One of her daughter-in-laws said goodbye and went home, but Ruth stayed with her.  Now she hears that Bethlehem-Judah has bread again.  (they left because of a famine in the land)  As she goes home, everyone sees her and asks "Is this Naomi?"  She says in Ruth 1:20 "Call me not Naomi, call me Mara:  for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me."  and then in verse 21 "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?"  She was pleasant.... she was bitter... but... before chapter four is over, she is pleasant again and God is blessing her!  She was in the will of God; she went out of the will of God; and she came back to the will of God!  Pleasant.... Bitter.... Pleasant again!!  You too can go thorough this same experience.  It is always better just to stay in the will of God for our lives!

Have a Pleasant Day!  Pastor Mike Mutchler