“God, this doesn’t make sense.”
Those are the words I have found myself repeating over the last few days. Often, they are the only words I can manage before disappointment, fear, and frustration toward God spill into tears.
How do we process everything happening in the world? Everywhere we look, people suffer physically, mentally, emotionally, financially, and spiritually. Chances are, each of us carries at least one burden.
To be honest, I have been wrestling with God.
Just a month ago, my life looked completely different. I was teaching face-to-face in a place I loved. I earnestly looked forward to my wedding. I planned an Easter family visit and a celebration alongside close college friends.
Now everything has changed.
I am teaching online. I won’t be able to celebrate the end of my first year with my students. My wedding has been postponed longer than I ever expected. I can’t visit my family or spend time with friends. I never imagined this would become my reality.
These temporary losses have been difficult to accept, and they simply don’t make sense to me. I made sure God knew exactly how I felt. Yet even in my disappointment and anger, I knew I needed to seek God.
Whether I was journaling, crying, or pouring out my frustration in prayer, I knew I needed God more than ever. He has shown incredible kindness throughout everything. Instead of leaving me in my selfishness, He met me there. Instead of turning away at my anger, He lovingly corrected me and remained faithful. Every day, He continues to fight on my behalf, reminding me of His truth through His Word.
Finding Comfort in the Book of Ruth
During this season, one of my closest girlfriends and I committed to reading the book of Ruth together. If I’m honest, I think of Ruth as a nice book. It contains important history, but parts of it can seem ordinary. Yet God used this mundane, seemingly simple book to open my eyes. He revealed someone else who experienced a season of saying, “God, this doesn’t make sense.”
Although Ruth gives the book its name, the story begins with Naomi.
Naomi, her husband Elimelech, and their two sons flee Bethlehem because of a famine and settle in Moab. While there, Naomi’s sons marry Moabite women, Orpah and Ruth. Then tragedy strikes. Naomi’s husband dies. Later, both of her sons die as well.
Back then, a widow depended on her husband for provision, and after his death, her sons became her support. But then THEY also died. Eventually, Naomi returns to Bethlehem with only one daughter-in-law, Ruth. Upon arrival, Naomi tells the people, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went away full, and the Lord has brought me back empty.” (Ruth 1:20–21)
How relatable are Naomi’s grief, confusion, and anger?
This was her own “God, this doesn’t make sense” moment.
When God Works Behind the Scenes
Even amid Naomi’s sorrow, Ruth remained faithful. She worked tirelessly, providing for both women. One day, Ruth found herself in Boaz’s field. What looked like chance was actually God’s providence. Boaz showed unusual kindness toward Ruth. Unknown to her, he would become their household’s redeemer. When Ruth told Naomi what happened, God opened Naomi’s eyes. She realized exactly who Boaz was.
She responded, “May he be blessed by the Lord, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!” (Ruth 2:20)
What a remarkable statement! Only one chapter earlier, Naomi believed God had dealt bitterly with her. Now she is praising Him for God’s faithfulness and kindness. What happened? God happened.
God was with Naomi and her family as they left their homeland. He was with her when her husband died. He was with her when her sons died.
God was also with Naomi and Ruth as they traveled back to her homeland. He was present through turmoil, weeping, praise, and rejoicing. She praised and rejoiced because her eyes were opened to God’s constant presence. God brought them back. God led Ruth to Boaz’s field. He worked through Boaz to provide, protect, and accomplish His greater purposes. God happened. His plans succeeded and they were GOOD!
God Had More for Naomi
God used Naomi’s deepest heartache to accomplish something she never could have imagined. Through Ruth and Boaz, God forever connected Naomi’s family to the lineage of King David and, ultimately, to Jesus Christ.
Ruth 4:17 tells us, “They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.”
Then Matthew 1:5 reminds us that Boaz was “the father of Obed by Ruth,” placing this family directly in the genealogy of Christ. Naomi’s season of grief, turmoil, and emptiness was not meaningless. God had a purpose in her pain. She simply could not see it yet. His ways truly are higher than ours.
God’s Quiet Presence Is Still His Presence
One thing I deeply appreciate about Ruth is God’s quiet activity. There is no parted Red Sea. No fire from heaven. No audible voice speaking to Naomi.
Instead, we see God working faithfully “behind the scenes” through ordinary people and ordinary moments.
Sometimes our lives feel the same way. We wonder where God is, ask what He is doing, and question how any good could come from our circumstances or how long the waiting will last.
I still wrestle with some of those questions.
But Ruth reminds me of something I desperately need to remember: God’s silence is not His absence. Quietness does not equal absence, circumstances do not define Him, and He is always at work. He was faithful then and He will be faithful now.
If you are walking through your own “God, this doesn’t make sense” season, take heart. The God who quietly worked through Ruth’s story is quietly at work in yours too. His plans may be hidden for now, but God’s faithfulness never is.
