Every cloud has a silver lining” is a proverb that is often used to encourage a person whose chips are down. One wonders how many times Naomi heard this during those difficult years in Moab—that even in the midst of tragedy and despair, there is the prospect of better things to come.
A modern-day parable tells of a frog being slowly boiled alive. The premise is that if the frog is put suddenly into boiling water, it will jump out of harm’s way immediately. But if the frog is put into tepid water that is then slowly brought to a boil, it will not perceive the danger. The frog will acclimatise to the increasing temperature until it is cooked to death.
I was at the airport recently to bid farewell to an old classmate who was moving with his family to another country. Left without work for more than a year, he eventually found a job in a city known for its opposition to the Christian faith. But the pay was good, he reasoned, and his children only needed to be there for two years.