Bitter to Pleasant - The Warrior's Journey®
Deep Loss

Bitter to Pleasant

A Marine reflects on loss of his fellow Marine. Photo by Marines is licensed under CC By 2.0

The Bible is very honest about the emotions we experience during times of loss.

In the following passage, Naomi was so despondent she could no longer accept the meaning of her own name (Naomi meant “pleasant”). Instead, she said that Mara (or “bitter”) best described her pain.

“But she said to them, ‘Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full, and the Lord has brought me home again empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the Lord has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?” (Ruth 1:20-21, NKJV).

You can trust Him to be faithful and to restore you from bitter to pleasant again.

Have you lost a spouse or child?

If so, you can certainly identify with Naomi. She lost her husband and both of her sons. Perhaps you have experienced the loss of a fellow warrior. That kind of sorrow can make your life bitter.

In her pain, Naomi believed that God was afflicting her. But, God did not leave Naomi in her loss and bitterness. He put it in Ruth’s heart to go with Naomi to Bethlehem. God provided Boaz as a husband for Ruth. He then blessed Naomi with a grandson born to Ruth and Boaz.

God sees you in your darkest seasons of life. He will work things out for you in accordance with His loving plan. You can trust Him to be faithful and to restore you from bitter to pleasant again.


The content of this article comes from “The Warrior’s Bible” (2014) and is copyrighted by Life Publishers International. Used with permission.

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