BIBLE STUDY ON NAOMI: Having Hope Through the Famines of Life

by Leslie
(Tallahassee, FL)

In our Bible study on Naomi we talked about how God can bring hope into our hopeless situations. Here is Leslie's response to what we learned.

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1. Have you ever felt like everything in your world was crumbling around you? Have there been times in your life when you've thought "The Lord Himself has raised His fist against me" (Ruth 1:13bNLT)?

Absolutely...there were times when it seemed like my midnight hour was 24 hours a day. When I was dealing with so much emotional pain that I really couldn't see or give much energy (emotionally or otherwise) to anything else in my life.

2. Why do you think that even though Naomi was bringing Ruth home with her, she felt that she was coming home empty? What can we learn from her incorrect assumption?

This may have been the case because we, as human beings, sometimes have a difficult time focusing on the positive when we are hurting so much from the negatives that have taken place in our lives. Sometimes all we can see is our own pain. When in TRUTH there is so much God has for us. However, we do have an adversary who wants to do all he can to block positive thoughts from taking root in our hearts. From her incorrect assumption, I think we can learn that even in the midst of famine, God can position people and things to begin to effectuate restoration in our lives.

3. Why do you think it is significant that Naomi was not just blessed with a grandson, but an ancestor of Christ? What does that tell us about what happens when God restores us?

It is significant in that it shows that we serve a BIG God. God says in Jeremiah that he has plans to prosper us, to give us a hope and a future. When God restores, HE RESTORES...not on man's level, but a BIG GOD type of restoration.

4. Based on what you've learned in this Bible Study on Naomi, what legacy would you say that she has left for us as women of God?

A legacy of hope in the things of God; a legacy of TRUE FAMILY (as evidenced by Ruth staying with her); a reminder that even when our world may seem dark...the God of light is always looking to shine on it.