MY
DAILY COVENANT WITH GOD DEVOTIONAL
Devotion
for Tuesday January 17, 2017
Topic:
Call Me Mara
Text:
Ruth 1:19 – 22
Naomi had experienced severe
hardships. She had left Israel married and secure; she returned widowed and poor.
Naomi changed her name to express the bitterness and pain she felt. She was now
a woman of a sorrowful spirit. She had come home empty, poor, a widow and
childless. This might be the reason for the reaction of people in 1:19. In
response, she opted to answer Mara – bitterness. Naomi was not rejecting God by
openly expressing her pain. However, she seems to have lost sight of the
tremendous resources she had in her relationship with Ruth and with God.
Most
of us face bitter and severe hardship like Naomi did. Some of us have lost all
we worked for to fire overnight, some have lost their benefactors, and some
have had chains of sicknesses as if they will never end. These notwithstanding,
when we face bitter times, God welcomes our honest prayers, but we should be
careful not to overlook the love, strength, and resources that He provides in
our present relationships. Again, we shouldn’t allow bitterness and
disappointment to blind us to new opportunities He gives to us.
Food
for Thought:
In every disappointment there are opportunities.
Memory
verse: Ruth
1 v 19
Prayer:
Lord, grant me the grace I need in times of hardship and disappointments never
to be blinded to opportunities you will provide.
