God is Pleasant to Us, Even if We are Bitter Toward Him

"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5: 8)

Ruth's mother-in-law Naomi blamed the Lord for her misfortunes:

"And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me.

"I went out full, and the LORD hath brought me home again empty: why then call ye me Naomi, seeing the LORD hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me?" (Ruth 1: 20-21)

In truth, it was Naomi, with her husband Elimelech, who forgot who they were and left Bethlehem (the House of Bread) during times of famine.

From the second chapter through the entire book of Ruth, Naomi guides her faithful gentile daughter-in-law, who made the Lord her God, and Ruth comes to rest in His provision through Boaz, her kinsman-redeemer and picture of our Lord Jesus Christ

In the end, the ladies of the town declare to Naomi:

"Blessed be the LORD, which hath not left thee this day without a kinsman, that his name may be famous in Israel.

"And he shall be unto thee a restorer of thy life, and a nourisher of thine old age: for thy daughter in law, which loveth thee, which is better to thee than seven sons, hath born him." (Ruth 4: 14-15)

Indeed, Naomi's life was restored to her:

"And Naomi took the child, and laid it in her bosom, and became nurse unto it." (Ruth 4: 16)

Normally, an elderly woman no longer can nurse a child, but God, who calls those things that are not as though they are (Romans 4: 17), renewed Naomi's youth (Psalm 103: 5) so that she could nurse a child whom she never thought to have:

"That you may nurse, and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations; that you may drink deeply, and be delighted with the abundance of her glory." (Isaiah 66: 11)

And the etymology of "nurse" is the same word for faith! (http://concordances.org/hebrew/539.htm)

Even if we are bitter towards God in our heads for times past, God does not stop loving us. Our one work is to believe on Him (John 6: 29), for we should never judge God's love based on our circumstances:

"Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." (1 John 4: 10)

Naomi may have been bitter, but by God's grace, which she received by faith, God made things all better for her.