“And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah. And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink? And he cried unto the Lord; and the Lord shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet.” – Exodus 15:23-25a
“And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full and the Lord hath brought me home again empty.” – Ruth 1:20-21a
“O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.” – Psalm 34:8
The last year has taught me a lot. I’m learning that life doesn’t have to be scheduled to the hilt to be full. I’m learning that emptiness can be a good thing, because it can make you available for opportunities you couldn’t possibly anticipate. Most of all, I’m starting to understand that God requires room to work (II Chronicles 16:9, Isaiah 45:2, 54:2-3). He doesn’t limit Himself to our petty little schedules, but rather, He does His greatest work when we have either voluntarily or involuntarily lost control of everything around us (Job 42:2, Psalm 135:6, II Peter 3:7-9).
In Ruth 1, Naomi had lost control of everything in her world. The years had been cruel. First, famine had struck Bethlehem, and in a desperate attempt to stop their world from spinning out of control, she and her husband, Elimelech, had moved their family to Moab. And that was when they really lost control. Elimelech died first, leaving Naomi with two boys to raise alone. After taking Moabite wives (probably not part of their parents’ original plan), the sons die as well, leaving Naomi with a family full of helpless widows (Verses 3-5).
But the tide has turned in Bethlehem, and with nothing to her name, Naomi is drawn back to her hometown by the promise of bread (Ruth 1:6). She encourages her daughters-in-law to stay in Moab, knowing she has nothing to offer them, but of course, Ruth refuses to leave her side (Verses 15-18). And so this young widow follows her broken and bitter mother-in-law back to Bethlehem in search of a new life.
When Naomi finally arrives in Bethlehem, her old neighbors recognize her – but just barely. Those cruel years are etched on her face, and there’s no more strapping husband, no little boys trailing behind her, just a young widow walking in her shadow, and an air of emptiness surrounding them both.
She tells them to call her “Mara”, because God has dealt bitterly with her (Ruth 1:19-21). And in her bitterness, it escapes her that God was probably not involved in the decision to go to Moab, and probably not consulted when her sons took Moabite wives (committing them to stay in Moab until the sons’ deaths ten years later). If Naomi’s life was empty, it was because it was once full of decisions that emptied it of God.
There’s another mention of the word Mara (or Marah) in the Old Testament. It shows up in Exodus 15:23-25. The Children of Israel had gone for 3 days without water in the wilderness. Desperate and complaining, they finally find water, but it is bitter and undrinkable. God shows Moses a tree and tells him to throw the tree into the water, and the water is immediately changed. I’m sure it’s no coincidence that it reminds me of another tree that God used to change our bitter lives, when He sent His Son to die on Calvary’s cross.
Like those bitter waters and our lost souls, Naomi’s empty life immediately began to change the minute that she steered her course towards God (Isaiah 54:1-6). One of the greatest joys in reading the Book of Ruth is watching Naomi’s emptiness turn into excitement. In a few short chapters, she goes from bitter to blessed. By Chapter 4, she’s giddy as a schoolgirl, planning Ruth’s wedding, and later playing grandma to Ruth’s little boy (Verses 13-16). She may not have understood it right away, but her emptiness was actually a bittersweet gift, because it finally gave God room to work in her life in miraculous ways (Psalm 27:13, 30:5, Lamentations 3:15, 19-26, Romans 8:28).
Maybe you’re feeling an emptiness today. Maybe it’s not such a bad thing after all. Maybe it’s just the opening that God needs to do a new thing (Isaiah 43:19). There is no empty life that He cannot fill to the fullest. There is no bitterness that He cannot turn into blessing. Give Him room to work, and He will do more than you can imagine.
YOUR PRESCRIPTION
Is God waiting to do a new thing in your life? Do you need to turn your heart in His direction? Do you need to turn it away from something that is turning you away from Him? Ask God to help you to make room for Him to work in your life.
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