Hi how are you today? I am well. This weekend I was volunteering at a women’s conference which was so good. It was on revive- being awakened, standing on Gods promises and allowing Jesus to heal those dead places within me. How was your week?
This week I want to chat on rewriting my story but I want you to personalise this statement. It is not my story that needs to be rewritten but probably most of our stories. What do I mean?
1. I was lost but now am found.
2. I was a prisoner of my past but now am free.
3. I was in chains of addiction but now have hope.
4. I lived in shame but now live knowing my identity is in Jesus.
5. I was bound in unforgiveness and now live in forgiveness.
All of us probably have other statements that would resonate with each of us. We need to put a “but” in our conversations when sharing our past. Too many of us still identify with that old person and we need to begin rewriting our story.
Let’s look at a couple of women in the Bible that successfully rewrote their story. They are Ruth and Naomi.
The first is Ruth. She was a Moabite woman married to an Israelite man who had died. Therefore, she was not only a Moabite but a widow who had no children.
Moab was an idolatrous nation. They didn’t serve God but idols and even sacrificed their own children. Further, she was no longer a virgin – she had everything going against her.
Her mother in law was also going to abandon her and go back to Israel. We don’t know who Ruth’s family were but this young lady saw something in Naomi that she desired.
I don’t know about you but when you are stuck in a situation where you can’t find hope and the future looks bleak, when presented with “new”, it seems wise to follow. This is what Ruth did. She stepped out and followed Naomi to the new.
Just remember this new for Naomi was really her past- she had come from there. Sometimes our far distant past, our childhood way of living, can be better than where we find ourselves now. It is then wisdom to go back and rewrite your story using that as your base. We will look at her soon.
Ruth and Naomi arrived in Israel at the time of the harvest. Ruth went out to glean in the fields as a widow would go in that time. They would glean the bits that the harvesters had left so they would have food.
Ruth caught the attention of the landowner because he had heard the story of how she was caring for Naomi in Ruth 2. But she was still known as being from Moab. Her past still controlled her present.
Ruth 3 is where the turning point came. Naomi told Ruth to go to Boaz in the middle of the night as he was their closest provider as they were widowed women. She was to literally ask him to marry her. Would he reject her because of her past? Ruth went and propositioned him. But there was another who was closer so negotiations needed to be done.
Ruth 4 is where we see Ruth’s future change. Boaz and Ruth get married and take note of what the elders of the town said about her in verse 11 of the NIV version:
“We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the family of Israel. May you have standing in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem.”
Ruth’s story was now rewritten. She was no longer a Moabite, a foreigner but was a daughter of Israel – wholly accepted and loved. Further, she was the great grandmother of King David and features in the linage of Jesus. This was all because she didn’t let her past define her future but said yes to “new “.
Naomi called herself bitter in this story but at the end, the women said to her, in verses 14 to 15 of Ruth 4 in the NIV:
“Praise be to the Lord, who this day has not left you without a guardian-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel! 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.”
Naomi was also restored and her life again had purpose. She was no longer bitter, but blessed.
God is wanting to rewrite your story the same way. Will you let Him? It has to be by choice and our words where our story will change. God will only makes things better for us because He is our creator and redeemer.
Bless you heaps and keep living the life God intended for you. Have a great week.
Karen
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