My story must Change.

Grace Today Magazine – House of Grace Church (November 2011)

I was Seated; listening to Bishop Muriithi speak about Divine Connections just thrilled me on how many of us forfeit our destiny. The book of Jonah 2:8 reminds us that "Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs.” and this is where many of us miss the point; we cling to things/people/Job positions that hinder us from going to the next level God has prepared for us.

Naomi moves from Bethlehem and goes to Moab when the famine was severe (Ruth 1:1-5) and while there, she lost both her husband and two sons and she was left with two daughters-in-law. Whilst there, she heard that God had visited the people and there was food in Bethlehem and she decided to go back. At times, we leave our divine place of placement and go to settle elsewhere thinking that things will be better only for us to go and lose everything that we had rather than gaining more. If only Naomi had been patient enough to hold on and stay in Bethlehem, she wouldn’t have lost her husband and her husband.

Naomi decides to leave Moab and so she urges her daughters-in-law to go back to their parents and hopefully get married again; but Ruth was adamant and refused to be left. Bishop Muriithi emphasized that “One major key to attaining success is the ability to spot and sustain divine connections” and Ruth had spotted her divine connection and wasn’t ready to let go off it. She discovered that her destiny was tied to her sticking with her mother-in-law despite the fact that she wouldn’t be able to give birth to another son to become her husband. Orphah left Naomi and Ruth and she went back. We see that the destiny and the story of Ruth changed from a Moabite window to be part of the Royal family in the lineage of Jesus.

If you looked at the background of Ruth, she was from Moab which was an adulterous nation and was cursed by God. The nation was born from an incest relationship between Lot and his elder daughter (Genesis 19:30-36). Moab used its women who were beautiful to seduce the armies of other nations and have them killed in battles (Numbers 25-26) and if you look at this background, you can’t believe that God would bless and change the story of such a person from a cursed background to royalty.

Two important lessons I learn from Ruth. For her story to change:

1. She changed her location: If she went back to her parent like her sister, she could have been in the same locale and thus, no blessings for her. There are places that you are stuck to and they have become a comfort zone for you and you are not willing to change. It’s the high time you relocated and moved on to your next level. The children of Israel were used to Egypt and when they were faced by the challenge of the Red sea and the Egyptian army behind them, they wanted to go back to Egypt. The minute you familiarize yourself with something and get used to it, it deters you from advancing to new levels that you are not used to… you are afraid of taking the risk but Ruth dared to follow Naomi to a land she didn’t know.
2. She changed her faith: Moab was a land that had many idol gods and Ruth knew that very well. It was her choice to leave Moab and follow her mother-in-law. She told Naomi “Don’t urge me to leave you or turn back. Where you go I will go; your people will be my people and your GOD will be my GOD” (Ruth 1:16). Changing location alone is not enough; you need to change the way you do some things; some things that you value; some habits you were used to have to die. What are the altars that have been raised up in your life, family and even your workplace? Remember, altars speak so much into one’s life and unless you destroy them like Gideon did, they will hold you ransom.

Ruth started to gather grain behind the harvesters in Boaz’s field and God gave her favour before Boaz and she was later married to him. You will notice that she was trailing behind the harvesters picking up the left overs but here now, she is the recipient of what the harvesters were gathering and her story changed. She bore Obed who was the father of Jesse who was in turn the father of King David; from a window into the royalty family line.

Your story too can change… if and only if you connect with the right people.

PS! This is an article I contributed to the Grace Today Magazine of House of Grace Church (www.houseofgrace.or.ke). Visit the church and get your free copy of the November Magazine.