THE UPPER ROOM DAILY DEVOTIONAL 24 JULY 2024, WEDNESDAY MESSAGE
TOPIC: Bitterness into Beauty
TODAY’S READING
Ruth 1:15-22
“Don’t call me Naomi,” she told them. “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter.” – Ruth 1:20 (NIV)
TODAY’S MESSAGE
Due to struggles with my mental health, I had told my husband I did not want children, much to his disappointment. But as I neared the completion of my second degree, I was feeling the best I ever had. So seven years into our marriage, after experiencing a lot of God’s healing, we decided to start trying.
I quickly became pregnant. Unexpectedly, I immediately felt deep love for our child. And then not long after that, we had a miscarriage.
I felt I had suffered enough and couldn’t understand why this would happen. I recalled the story of Naomi, who had lost her husband and sons, crying out to God, “Don’t call me Naomi . . . Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter.” For weeks I prayed these same words to God.
Then as I kept praying, I remembered that the story did not end there. Naomi’s faithful daughter-in-law, Ruth, remained with her and cared for her. Naomi would become the grandmother to Obed — the grandfather of King David.
At the time of this writing, we’re still grieving the loss of a child we never had the chance to meet. We still contend with the possibility that we might never have a child. But my story is not over. We aren’t guaranteed the outcome we want. But the God who renewed, sustained, and redeemed Naomi’s life can renew ours as well.
TODAY’S PRAYER
Author of life, help us to trust that the story does not end here. Turn our bitterness into beauty. Amen.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
God can turn my sorrow into joy.
PRAYER FOCUS
Those grieving a miscarriage
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The Upper Room Daily Devotional 24 July 2024 Message. The Upper Room is a daily devotional magazine published in more than 30 languages and 100 countries around the world. The daily meditations are written by readers of the magazine and others interested in sharing their faith experiences through writing—both laity and clergy, published authors and new writers. The meditations are stories of real people working to live faithfully with the Bible as their touchstone. Every day, readers of The Upper Room around the world read the same story in many different languages and pray the same prayer together. Read More