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“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”  Psalm 147:3(NIV)

Do you know our emotions are no surprise to God? He created us with emotions. Sometimes we feel as if being emotional or having emotions is a curse, but the very essence of what emotions are comes from the heart of God.

Jesus experienced grief, anger, joy, anxiety, pain, exhaustion, compassion, frustration, disgust, and agony. We know Jesus lived a life free of sin while He took on our humanity, so we can have confidence that our emotions themselves are not sin.

Scripture is full of beautiful, heartbreaking, raw, and real stories of the emotions that people walked through. One of my personal favorites is the story of Naomi. Let’s take a peek into her life.

Naomi was married to Elimelech, and she had two sons, Mahlon and Killion. Elimelech moved his family from Bethlehem to the land of Moab due to a famine. As far as we can tell, things went well, and the boys grew. Then Elimelech died. We do not receive any information about Naomi, but we can imagine her sorrow. Mahlon and Killian grew up. They marry. Ten years later they both die. An interesting side note here is that two sons being married for 10 years each did not bring Naomi any grandchildren. Was this another loss she grieved?

Naomi hears there is food again in Bethlehem, so she makes a decision to return home, where she has family and friends.

As she arrives back in Bethlehem with Ruth, her daughter-in-law, she is so overcome she does not even mention what Ruth has sacrificed to be with her. From what scripture says, Naomi does not even introduce or acknowledge Ruth. Naomi tells her old friends to call her Mara, for the Lord has brought her home empty.

Isn’t that what happens when we are in the deep throes of grief? It is very difficult to see what is around us because we can only see our loss. God does not condemn Naomi or try to push her forward in any way. Much like Hannah, who was grieving in the temple as she asked God for a son, God did not say her grieving was wrong.

He created us, and He walked with us so that we would know He understands our humanity, which includes our emotions.

As you walk through the book of Ruth, when you get to chapter 2, it is Ruth who tells Naomi that they need to eat. Ruth says she will go and glean with the other foreigners and widows. Naomi offers no suggestions or people to connect with. She agrees. Can you imagine Naomi sitting by her window and remembering the days of her boys playing or her husband coming home to her? Ruth’s sacrifice of traveling with Naomi and seeing that she was taken care of allowed Naomi the time she needed to grieve and move toward healing.

We will look at more of her story next week, but for now, remember that whatever difficult emotions you are walking through, God is not surprised and He is walking with you. For those of us with friends and family in these circumstances, may we remember that if God allows time and space for emotions, may we do the same. May we walk alongside those walking through valleys and may we provide as Ruth did for Naomi.

“Father, help us to be your hands and feet. Help us to trust your timetable. Lord, please comfort and heal broken hearts today.”

For His Glory

Terrie Tollerson
TRBC Women’s Life