20 “Don’t call me Naomi,” she told them. “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter.

21 I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The LORD has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me.”

22 So Naomi returned from Moab accompanied by Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law, arriving in Bethlehem as the barley harvest was beginning.


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How many times have we felt hopeless? Like the Lord has brought misfortune to us? Our hearts are broken, there seems to be no possible way to be happy again. We can certainly identify with the hardship of Naomi.

What is amazing is how God works out everything for the good for those who love the Lord. She returns to Bethlehem to be with her people, with her God, and in so doing she is an example to Ruth. Others are watching our struggles in life, we can be a witness to the strength of the Lord by just turning to Him in our time of need.

We can NEVER give up Hope in the Lord. That is where our Strength comes from. We are NEVER alone in our hardships if we truly are trusting in HIM!!