Day 10: Living Life With God—Seamlessly (Ruth 1:19-22)
Today’s Passage: Ruth 1:19-22
When life gets hard, how is your relationship with God?
I seem to assume one of three places. I feel close to God when things are going along fine. I feel close to God when things are completely beyond me. It’s the in-between space where I seem to separate myself.
The in-between space for me is when I am trying hard to live my life in my own strength. Those seemingly day-in and day-out activities I need to do each day—like work. I get to working hard, then I hit some obstacles, so I push harder against them, often getting nowhere, so I push even harder. My frustration grows—and I do all this without drawing close to God.
I’ve yet to master living life seamlessly with God.
As chapter one comes to a close, we again find Naomi seamlessly living her life openly with God. Consider these verses:
20 She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. 21 I went away full, and the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the Lord has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?”
Naomi declares her name is no longer “pleasant”, but it is now “bitter”. Why? Because the Almighty has dealt bitterly with her.
After more than a decade away from home, greeted by past acquaintances, she pulls no punches. She tells them of her situation. She is not putting on a brave face. She sees her desperate life in the hands of God.
What is curious, and a clue, is the name she calls God by: The Almighty—El Shaddai.
God has many names in the Bible, and in this instance, Naomi names the El Shaddai-ness of God. What does this name mean? If God is Almighty, then why is Naomi in this plight? That is so often the question humans ask.
Yet, what if El Shaddai, the name, is communicating something else? I’ll spare you the word study and give you a summary description from J.A. Motyer. El Shaddai is used to describe those situations when “God is at His best when man is at his worst”. (Atkinson, David J.. The Message of Ruth (The Bible Speaks Today Series)(p. 52). InterVarsity Press. Kindle Edition.)
I love this description. When I am at my worst, when my situation is at its worst, God will be at His best. Imagine if you and I could hold onto this attitude when the world comes crashing in.
Is that what we read Naomi is doing? I think she is wonderful at living her life seamlessly with God and doing it all so transparently. If you want to read another spot in Scripture, read Psalm 73. It is a Psalm where the author is questioning why the arrogant prosper (and he does not), yet it concludes that being with God, even in distress, is the best place—while Naomi laments, she is with God.
God has told us, “I will never leave you, nor forsake you” (Deut 31:6) and Jesus has told us, “I will be with you always” (Mt 28:20).
To hold onto this attitude is to simultaneously accept that we will have trouble in this world—that God may not make it better for us—and yet we will still be close to God, who is good, who has overcome the world.
I am challenged by this woman to live my life in a more open and seamless way with God.
What trouble are you in? Are you facing a disastrous situation like Naomi, or are you feeling as if you are beating your head against a wall? What has Naomi modeled for you (for me) that might lead to spending your time with God differently? Consider doing so right now.