I went out full and the LORD brought me home again empty  (Ruth 1:21).

Naomi (Ruth 1:20-21) had gone out full (i.e. with her husband and 2 sons), but the Lord brought her back home empty (i.e. as a widow and childless). The above verse of Scripture could equally have been the words of the Prodigal son, who went out full being blessed with his father’s riches, but finished up coming home with nothing and asking for his father’s forgiveness.

It is strange that some people can be so blessed and yet because of a move or decisions they make, finish up with nothing. As children of God we have been blessed with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies, and we have everything in Christ—we are “full”. But when we go out from His presence and lose our fellowship with Him and His people, we're at risk of being brought home empty. Thank God, that if we do come home that way, just like the Prodigal son did, we'll find the Father waiting to receive us with outstretched arms.

The sojourn in Moab had had a deep effect on Naomi, it had made her bitter. If we move away from the will of God, the sin in which we engage is forgiven on confession of that sin, but the MARKS OF SIN may remain with us for a long time. Naomi was very bitter; she was hardly recognisable by the women in her home town, but God in His mercy eventually granted her a grandson, who was in the Royal line. God only wants the best for us, so let’s stay close to Him, and not go off thinking we know best.