Helping Others

Helping Others

Naomi

Read: Ruth 2:19–3:4

As Kathleen pulled into the parking lot, she once again silently thanked her friend for butting into her life. When her husband died suddenly of a heart attack, Kathleen felt something inside her die too. For two long years, she lived inside a wall of darkness and pain, feeling cut off from life. Eventually, she checked out the volunteer literacy program just to make Alice quit nagging her. Now Kathleen couldn’t imagine missing her time at the center helping a sixty-year-old woman learn to read. Kathleen still missed her husband, but this work had brought her a new joy.

Naomi returned to Bethlehem as a destitute, grief-stricken woman who had lost her husband and both sons. Her spirits revived when Ruth brought home much more grain than a gleaner would normally gather in one day. Her depression lifted more when she learned that God had led Ruth to the field of Boaz, a close relative of her husband, who showed unusual kindness to Ruth. But Naomi really perked up when she decided to do a little matchmaking. Boaz evidently needed a nudge to fulfill the role of family redeemer and marry Ruth. With a goal, Naomi now had plans to make. By helping Ruth find a better life, her thoughts moved away from her own sadness.

Severe trials and loss can make us self-preoccupied, unable to focus on anything except our own pain. We may feel that we’ll never be able to enjoy life again. As we move through the normal grieving process, one of the best ways to help ourselves is to reach out to others in need. Helping others draws our attention away from our own problems, and we discover the joy that comes from meeting others’ needs, whether we’re working as a literacy volunteer or a matchmaker.

Remember the words of the Lord Jesus: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

Acts 20:35