How can you tell whether God is pleased with you or not? One approach, popular since time immemorial, is to look at how things are going in your life. If things are generally going well and you enjoy health, prosperity and happiness, that must be a sign that God is blessing you. If, on the other hand, you are suffering illness, hardship or heartache that must show God is angry with you.
In our passage this week, Naomi feels sure that God has turned against her. She tells everyone who will listen, ‘The Lord has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me.’ (Ruth 1:21) And it’s not hard to see why; over a period of ten years, she has endured famine, suffered the death of her loved ones, and fallen into poverty.
But Naomi is mistaken. God’s faithful love has never abandoned her and is even now working things for her good. It is the same with us. Instead of judging the situation by our circumstances, however dire they may be, we should trust in God’s promise to us, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’ (Heb13:5)
Ed