Naomi or Mara?

My delight or bitterness?

What shall we call you?

“Don’t call me Naomi,” she told them. “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter.” Ruth 1:20

Up to this point Naomi has lost her husband and two sons and has returned to Bethlehem after a famine that drove them to Moab. 

Naomi has seen hard, heart breaking, desperate and dark times. So bad that she centered her name, her identity, around those circumstances. She wanted to abandon her name, which meant “my delight” and instead now be identified as Mara, meaning “bitterness”.

If we are honest with ourselves, we too change our names. We sometimes equate our identity and value to our circumstances. One week our name is Joy and then the next day it’s Shame. Today we are Overcomers and tomorrow we are Broken. 

With all these name changes, how can we keep up?

How will people know who we are or what version of us will they get today?

For that reason, we must identify with a source of truth that is consistent and persistent and not temporal. 

Naomi knew God. She even referenced that her suffering was a direct result of his divine power. So if a God that powerful, could use a famine, to bring about a faithful daughter in law, who happened to work in the field of family relation, all while preserving the family line and restoring honor to Naomi; that sounds like a God to cling to because he knows how to work all things out for our good. 

I noticed that each time Naomi was spoken to, the name Mara was never used by others. 4:14 says “The women said to Naomi…” but didn’t she say to call her Mara? 

Even when our right now feels like the gutter, people will remember the track history of God in your life. 

Only a good God can bring you from famine to provision. (1:1, 2:1-9)

Only a good God can allow loyalty to lead to your salvation. (1:16)

Only a good God can let your character proceed you, resulting in favor. (3:10-12)

Only a good God can place you in a safe, generous workplace with a gentle boss. (3:8)

Only a good God can roll away the reproach of your past. (4:14)

Only a good God can allow one person to love you more than seven people combined. (4:15)

Only a good God can allow you to play a pivotal role in a legacy to come. (4:13-22)

Naomi or Mara?

My delight or bitterness?

What shall we call you?

No matter how life ebbs and flows, your name is child of God.

See you next week!