697) When I was young, I thought it would be a good idea to know the specific things that would happen in my life ahead of time. My reasoning was that I could “plan” for it. If a gift was on the way, I could decide how to use it. If disease were just around the corner, I would work toward making it less painful by preparing my body for it in any way I could. But what about heartache? This one makes my thoughts slow down, helping me to conclude that knowing ahead of time would make life harder.

In light of this, Ruth 1:1-5 informs us that Ruth, Orpah and Naomi all deal with a heartache that will always exist in this life – the death of someone they loved. Though we are not told the specific history of these women, we know that all of them lose their husbands earlier than most. I cannot imagine what it would be like to lose my husband; my best friend. My heart aches as I think of the women, and yet, in spite of their heartache, Ruth marries again and her son through this union has the honor of being in the lineage of Jesus. God took something that was bad and made it into good.

We can learn to trust God through our heartaches, knowing that somehow and in His time, he will make good out of them. This is hard, that’s why faith is necessary.