“… call me Mara …” (Ruth 1:20 ESV)
3 words summed up the cry of one woman’s broken heart.
A woman who’d experienced indescribable loss and unfathomable difficulty. She gave her friends a command to call her by a new name, marking her existence in a cruel and unforgiving world.
She no longer felt like the person she once was.
“She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.” Ruth 1:20 ESV
She went away from Bethlehem-Judah with a full heart, but after all she’d endured, she returned home a bitter woman.
Yes, she’d seen more hardship than most, but why would she label herself that way? Why proclaim such a profound shift in who she was, when God had given her a beautiful name, meaning, “pleasant one”?
The answer is simple. Naomi felt completely emptied out. She had nothing left.
“I went away full, and the Lord has brought me back empty.” Ruth 1:21b ESV
Like Naomi, we each carry our own story of deep loss that leaves an even deeper void on the surface of our hearts. Loss comes in many forms, and though our circumstances may not look the same, that emptiness we can’t quite explain feels remarkably familiar.
What Happens When We Invite God into Our Emptiness?
I’ve thought a lot about Naomi’s words to her friends when she returned from Moab that day. It would be easy to judge from the outside looking in, but if we walk with her for a while, her words may very well have a profound impact on our own desperate need to be filled when life has left us empty.
Maybe her claim as a bitter woman was less of a personal put-down and more of a cry for help. Thankfully, those cries did not go unnoticed by her ever-present God. A truth we can accept as solace for our own weary and worn-out times, as well.
“Lord, you are my portion and my cup of blessing; you hold my future.” Psalms 16:5 CSB
Friend, if we sat down face-to-face today and shared our own stories of loss with each other, what would yours look like?
Have long distances pulled you away from the people and places you called home?
Have your kids grown and left you to navigate an empty nest?
Has job loss, retirement, or divorce closed the lid on the life you once had?
Does a health issue mean you can’t do your favorite things anymore?
Has a loved one’s death caused unimaginable grief and pain?
I won’t minimize what you’ve been through by offering “helpful” advice or claiming to understand. But I can say, with all the sincerity of my once-hollow heart: whatever season you’re in, my faith friend, you can trust that God has a plan for refilling the empty spaces.
He did it for Naomi, and he can do it for us, too. I believe that. He is the sustaining portion we need.
God’s Perfect Timing for This Message
For 2 years, I've been drawn to Naomi’s story. The connection grew, no doubt, from my own hard seasons.
And during that time, God has revealed beautiful lessons from her life we can apply to our own. Life-changing lessons, and I can truly say that through this journey, I have grown in ways I never could’ve imagined.
I’ve wanted to share this message with you for so long, I felt like my heart would burst! But God kept that door sealed shut. Until now.
His timing is always, always best.
If you’d like to journey alongside me and dig into Naomi’s story in the Book of Ruth, I can make this promise. You won’t be disappointed. Together, we will discover renewed possibilities and the kind of fulfillment only God can provide.
If life has left an aching void on the surface of your heart, friend, this book is for you. Because God refilled Naomi’s heart, and he isn’t finished yet.
P.S. If you purchase something from my site, I may get a small commission that helps keep this ministry up and running. Thank you - Kristine
