Redeemed Devotional – Day 4

Scripture:
⁸ But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to her mother's house. May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. ⁹ The Lord grant that you may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband!” Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept. ¹⁰ And they said to her, “No, we will return with you to your people.” ¹¹ But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? ¹² Turn back, my daughters; go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, even if I should have a husband this night and should bear sons, ¹³ would you therefore wait till they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, for it is exceedingly bitter to me for your sake that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me.”
~ Ruth 1:8-13

Many of us are fix-it kind of people. When we see a problem, our instinct is to try and fix it. When we see a person hurting and going through something, we step in to try and help the situation. The thought of not doing anything to help seems almost unthinkable. And sometimes we are pretty good at it. But all of us hit our limit at some point. There’s a sorrow we can’t seem to touch. A troubling relationship that isn’t going back together. Or a challenge that we just don’t have the solution to.

This is where we find Naomi today. She looks around and sees the shambles of her life, and she knows that she can’t bring her husband and sons back to life again. She sees her daughters-in-law and knows they will never be married to her children. She knows she can’t give them a future, security, or hope. She has nothing to offer but broken dreams and a broken heart.  She wants to send her daughters-in-law away, because she believes her story can’t be fixed. And she urges them away, so that they could have a life she thinks is better for them.

She does this because she believes the Lord is against her. It’s very easy to give up when that’s what you believe. After all, if God is against you, then what hope could you possibly have? None at all. This could be where you are at, unable to bring yourself to believe that God is really for you. This thought, even though it’s not true, takes your mind in places that aren’t helpful.

Others of you know the deep frustration of trying all you can and feeling like it’s not enough. You’ve tried everything to save your marriage, but the distance and hurt only grow. You’ve tried everything to help your child, but nothing seems to reach their heart. You’ve tried everything to get ahead financially, but the numbers never add up. You’ve tried everything to fight your anxiety, but it still wakes you in the night. You’ve tried everything to feel close to God, but your heart still feels numb.

You’ve sought help, prayed, read Scripture, and done what you can, but nothing seems to have changed. And this has left you tired, exhausted, and worn down. You don’t have any more ideas or ways to make things work. All the roads have ended in dead ends. You are stopped.

God did not design us to be unstoppable. All of us are finite and have limits, unlike God. From time-to-time God gently reminds us that we are not God, and that apart from Him we are weak and needy. God places Naomi in this very spot. She can’t fix what has been broken or give hope to her daughters-in-law. She clearly sees her weakness and inability. But believe it or not, she is right where the Lord wants her.

It’s in these places that the Lord wants us to acknowledge our weakness and cry out to Him. He puts us here so we can stop pretending that everything is fine. He asks us to stop trying to fix it, and to start trusting Him to work. Naomi should be in this spot now. She should have known that crying out to the Lord in faith is the best thing she could do. But sadly, she is not in this spot yet. She’s still fighting instead of clinging, sinking in the depths of self-pity.

Naomi later will ask her relatives to call her bitter. She would rather rename herself than believe God can give her the grace to be pleasant again. She starts staring at her failures instead of God’s faithfulness and ends up in the trap of self-pity. Self-pity feels good for the moment as we rehearse our pain and failure, but it never leads to anything good.

How are you responding, right now, in this place where you can’t fix it? Have you cried out to the Lord in honesty, acknowledging your weakness and asking for His strength? Or are you settling for the pit of self-pity, where you keep looking at your own failures instead of the Lord’s strength? Are you trying to rename yourself because you think the Lord is against you?

I know that it’s not any fun to be in a spot where you’ve done all you can, but still can’t fix the problem. Those of us who struggle with control go crazy when it feels so far out of our hands. In these places, the Lord could give us a stern lecture about how we aren’t in control, and why we need to turn to him more quickly. But think of how often He meets us with His kindness when we don’t deserve it.

The Lord is going to meet Naomi with His kindness. She can’t fix what is broken, and the whole situation is far beyond her control. The last thing on her mind is God’s kindness. And it’s in these unexpected times in which we taste how sweet His kindness is. Naomi isn’t going to taste it until later. But make no mistake, the Lord already has a plan in place that will change her bitterness into rejoicing.

Could this be where you’re at today? The last thing on your mind is the Lord’s kindness. You are simply taking one step at a time trying to survive. So how do you even think of His kindness at this time? Keep waiting. Keep taking that next step and trusting that His kindness will come at just the right time.

For those of us who like happy endings and to fix things, it’s hard to acknowledge that we can’t do this. We can’t write the happy ending that we would like to see. But Jesus can. His plan includes a restoration from the emptiness and sinfulness that we started with. He delights in saving sinners so He can transform them into the sons and daughters He has in mind. Only Jesus can bring restoration to what feels dead and hopeless.

Your weary heart needs the truth today that Jesus is better than the control you want to hold on to. Your heart wants you to believe that holding on to control is the best thing you could do. Yes, losing control is terrifying. But you’ve never actually had true control. You’ve only had the illusion of it. Jesus is the only one who has true control and will never lose it.

Your weary heart also needs to hear that Jesus’ story is better than the one you are writing. Your version is much shorter and to the point than the one He has. Your story takes you on a path that isn’t too hard or painful. Jesus’ story for you is often filled with difficulty and pain. But your story ends with your version of happiness. His story ends with your redemption. His ending is far kinder and wiser than you could imagine.

Remember Jesus is not asking you to fix all the problems or have all the answers. He doesn’t want you to pick up the pen and write the ending. He’s just asking you to rest in the arms of the One who holds you as you are, not perfect and all put together, but right where you are at.

Pastor Josh Gerber

1. Where in your life do you most feel the weight of something you cannot fix—your marriage, your child, your health, your finances, or your own heart?
2. When you reach the end of your strength, what is your usual response—trying harder, shutting down, withdrawing, blaming yourself, or slipping into quiet self‑pity like Naomi?
3. How have you seen God meet you with unexpected kindness in past seasons when you felt helpless or out of control?