One day, Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, should I not try to find a home for you, where you will be well provided for?” -Ruth 3:1
Naomi lost her husband and her two sons, one of whom was married to Ruth. There had been a famine in the land where she lived, so she decided to head back home. Before setting out, Naomi told both of her daughters-in-law to head back to their mother’s home so that they could remarry and have children of their own. One daughter-in-law kissed Naomi and went on her way, but the other, Ruth clung to her mother-in-law, and said to her, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God will be my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.” So they set back home together.
When they got back to their home, people recognized Naomi and called out to her, but she responded saying, “Don’t call me Naomi. Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty.” It was clear that Naomi was terribly distressed and heartbroken over her losses. She was saddened and bitter. However, amidst her state of depression, Naomi took the focus off herself and started thinking about someone else as we see in the verse above. She began to care for Ruth’s needs and put them even ahead of her own.
How do you handle the dark seasons of your life? Do you focus so much on your problems that you do nothing but dig yourself deeper into the pit of depression? Do you become angry and turn your back on the world and on God? Do you throw up the white flag and just stop living? If this is you, I have a word of encouragement that I learnt from a woman named Naomi. If you are in a dark place, get outside of yourself and be a light to somebody else, and you might find that your darkness will start to lift.
I have heard testimonies of women that have either been raped, diagnosed with a life threatening disease, or lost a loved one, but stood strong amidst the dark clouds of turmoil that surrounded them. When asked how they get through the day, the unanimous answer has been, “I decide to take my focus off myself; my fear, anger, and depression, and focus on supporting others that are going through similar situations.” They turned their bitterness into blessings for others. Will you do the same today?
I often imagine the turmoil that Jesus must have felt as he walked around the earth for thirty three years knowing that He would face a horrific death sentence. However, when I read through scripture, I am introduced a Man that spent all of His time being a blessing to others, a man that reached out in love to the very people that caused His death sentence, a man that decided to become a blessing to others in spite of the bitterness He might have felt.
You see dear friends; one of the best medicines for a bitter and broken heart is a renewal of the mind. When you take the focus off yourself and onto another through the renewing of your mind, the Lord transforms your heart, and before you know it, you will find that you are standing strong and getting through each day, becoming just a little more healed and delivered. Try this medicine and watch your darkness get lifted a little more each day.
Grace and peace be with you.
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MEDICINE: FOCUS OFF