Ruth 1:20 She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi (sweetness); call me Mara (bitter), for the Almighty has caused me great grief and bitterness.
‘Wormwood’, the bitter toxic herb, is a metaphor for bitterness and resentment in the Bible. Absinthe, the herb-infused alcohol derived from the leaves and flowers of the bitter shrub wormwood, is associated with visual hallucinations, epilepsy, brain damage, and increased risk of psychiatric illness and suicide. Similarly, bitterness can intoxicate the soul with demonic psychosis.
We see symptoms of depression in Naomi. She has returned back to her home country, probably a decade, with one of her widowed daughter-in-law after losing her husband and her two sons in the land of Moab. When friends and relatives came to see her she stopped them from addressing her as Naomi (“sweetness”) and to call her “Mara” (bitter) as the Lord had embittered her life with sorrow. She was angry with herself and with the Almighty God for the loss of the three men in the family.
Bitterness of the soul is the root cause of depression. Depression is anger turned inwards. It is a constant feeling of sadness, negativity, mood swings and loss of interest to live. According to a publication by the National Library of Medicine, “Depressive symptoms result from anger directed toward the self in consequence of loss”. “Self-blame” or “blaming God” is one of the first symptoms of depression. Depression destroys self-worth and self-esteem. There are therapies and treatments to alleviate the symptoms of depression but the medical field does not have a cure for depression. Depression can only be managed medically but the cause of depression, “bitterness of the soul”, must be deracinated to be set-free from emotional or mental depression.
The Almighty God was gracious to deliver Naomi from depression and to reestablish her in Bethlehem.
Steps to overcome Bitterness:
1. Refocus: Depression will lock people in a cocoon to ruminate on the bad and negative incidents over and over again. The first step to break the cycle of depression is to refocus our mind from ‘what we’ve lost’ to ‘what we have’. Naomi had a daughter-in-law who was more than 10 sons to her. It is not a mental exercise but a spiritual discipline to trust that God knows what’s best and that He will work the good, bad and ugly for our good.
2. Renew: Depressive thoughts will sever our relationship with God and with godly people. Renewing our covenant and confessing that we will love the Lord, come what may, will break the hold of depression.
3. Retort: Negative or depressive mood swings will resound a monotonic chant that “God doesn’t love or care about you”. The Almighty is not a unibrow tyrant waiting to reprimand us. Retort back to the negative voice in faith, “I’m the King’s kid and no harm shall befall me”.
Recommit, refocus and renew your commitment to overcome bitterness and depression.
Ruth 4:15 “He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth.”
Prayer: Father God, teach me to talk back to the devil when he whispers lies about You to me and overcome negative and depressive thoughts. Amen.
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