Matthew 10:39. “He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.”
I came across this statement on YouTube; “Boaz is not in your Zip code”, I had a good laugh and did not think much of it. But it lingered on in my heart and I kept hearing get up and leave Moab, it’s time, Boaz is in Judah. I knew it was Holy Spirit, so listened in to know more. The book of Ruth tells the story of Ruth: a brave young woman who moved from Moab with her mother-in-law, Noami. After the death of Naomi’s husband and her two sons, she decided to go back to her homeland in Judah. At first, she begins the journey with both daughters-in-law but then gives them the choice of going back.
Ruth is given the choice of returning to Moab but she declines the offer. You must realize that the customs and traditions of these two places were completely different. The food choices are different, dressing and thinking patterns different, religion and beliefs different, and their Gods are different. Everything was different. To Ruth, one was a familiar path and the other a scary path with not much promise.
But Ruth had encountered Naomi’s God, something had awakened on the inside of her, a longing for more, a desire she could not explain. And Ruth makes the difficult decision of leaving her past, her pain, her way of life, her mood of dressing, her god, her people and decides to follow Naomi to Judah. Ruth did not just happen to meet Boaz, Ruth did not just engraft herself in the lineage of Jesus, she chose to let go of life the way she had known and embark on a journey with this new God she had found, a journey marked with uncertainty, a journey of absolute trust and surrender. She gave all to gain all.
I say all this to tell you that the blessing you desire, the breakthrough, the restoration, the abundance and more that God has for you is prepared and ready, the only challenge is that the blessing – which we call Boaz in this content, is not on your zip code. Your Boaz is in Judah. It’s time to stop chilling in Moab while praying to God for Boaz, it’s time to move.
What is Moab? – Moab in this context would mean any influence over your decision that is not consistent with God’s word. What influences your choice of associations? Do the key people who influence your life imbibe kingdom values or just mere cultural and societal values? What influences your choice of clothing, culture, trend, or God’s word? Are your decisions based solely on facts and statistics or based on God’s word? Do you still think the way you’ve always done before becoming a believer or have you allowed the word to influence your mindset?
The truth is many believers are very much in Moab. When we honestly examine the lives of many believers, besides the regular church attendance and some spiritual disciplines there isn’t much of a difference between those who profess to be Christians when compared to non-Christians. Our choices and decisions betray us, because in most cases we still live life the same way we did before Christ, we have not changed much. But today God is challenging us to move. Move to Judah, a land where God’s word governs the decisions we make, a place of faith. Judah is a place of alignment with God’s will and purpose for your life, a place of blessing.
It takes courage to leave Moab. It takes faith to leave Moab. You must have the courage to take God at His word even when you cannot see how in the natural. It is the path of faith that leads to God’s supply. If you keep making decisions in life based only on the facts and stats presented, you will never leave Moab, because making decisions based on the natural would lead to natural results. When Ruth was presented with the facts about Judah, it did not look promising. If she were to make an intellectual decision, Judah would not be her choice. God’s way will always require faith in His word. Have your choices and decisions hindered you from the blessing and purpose God has for you? It’s time to leave Moab, your blessing is in Judah.
To others, Moab is a place of pain, failure, regret, and shame. Life has not gone as planned and it hurts. You’ve served God with not much to show but instead like Ruth, you’ve experienced many losses. Pain is not something to trivialize because it can condition your life negatively, however, God is saying if you can go from Moab- the place of your pain to Judah-a place of praise, you’ll create the atmosphere that permits the restoration God has for you to be made manifest. God wants to heal and restore, but He requires that you arise and not allow the pain of yesterday hold you down, rise to a place of praise, and watch the restorer do that which He alone can do.
It’s important to note that Boaz was not born the year Ruth lost her husband, Boaz had always been in existence. What God has for you is prepared and ready. The solution already exists, you just need the courage to leave the known for God’s unknown to access it. The breakthrough is available, it’s just not in your zip code.
Like it was for Ruth so it is for you; to receive God’s best, to come in alignment with His will and purpose for your life, to access the abundance He has for you, you must have the courage to let go of your life to embrace His. You must sustain the courage to move out of your comfort zone and venture into the unknown based solely on His word. Be strong and courageous, make the move today.
