The Call Of Connectivity
Disconnecting From The Familiar
Ruth 1:12-18 (Amplified Bible)
12Turn back, my daughters, go; for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, even if I should have a husband tonight and should bear sons, 13Would you therefore wait till they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters; it is far more bitter for me than for you that the hand of the Lord is gone out against me. 14Then they wept aloud again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law [good-bye], but Ruth clung to her. 15And Naomi said, See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law. 16And Ruth said, Urge me not to leave you or to turn back from following you; for where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. b]">[b]Your people shall be my people and your God my God. 17Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more also, if anything but death parts me from you. 18When Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, she said no more.
I love the fact that I can look at my life and see growth. It may not always be growth in the areas that I want it in, but when it is spiritual growth I cannot complain one bit. Many years ago, I did not know how to separate myself from people and leave people alone even when they were not good for me. Today, I can catch a clue, when I sense certain behaviors, and tendencies God no longer has to allow me to go through massive changes nor does He have to hit me over my head for me to realize that things are toxic or no good for me. I know how to remove myself and leave folks alone. I have also learned the art of consecration, even when it is not convenient for everyone else, I have learned to turn off my cell phone and break away from what is familiar in order to place myself in a place with God for a given period of time.
So often we do not see that the familiar can make us complacent and keep us from being able to move forward. It can hold us captive to a season that is past and keep us from obeying God, or entering into a place God desires for us to be. It is ironic to me that in my own life I have seen, and heard some of the people closest to me, misunderstand the move of God in my life and try to tell me that things I heard, sensed or knew were off. They have even been a discouraging voice that has tried to override the Spirit of God in me and have tried to be a negative force in my life. I have others who have seen what God was doing and immediately what He was doing for me became their testimony, it almost became like some sort of twisted competition. That is why the Lord encourages us in 2 Corinthians 6:17-18 “So, come out from among [unbelievers], and separate (sever) yourselves from them, says the Lord, and touch not [any] unclean thing; then I will receive you kindly and treat you with favor, 18And I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” Sometimes it is those who we know the best or who are most familiar with us who believe in us the least and will trip us up on our journey to connect with God and His vision for us. If we do not make the choice to remove ourselves we will die in the wilderness never reaching the promise land, and never reaching our destiny and full potential in God.
For many reading this, you have been wrestling with decisions concerning family members and friends alike. You have even asked yourself do these people that say they love me so much, mean me harm or good. God is telling you it is time to move your tent and pitch it in the land that He has chosen, not one that holds sentimental value, or memories. Nor does it have a whole bunch of people who knew you when. It is time to step out of the shallow end where everyone is and into the deep end with God alone. Don’t waste time; hasten to obey God as He is asking you to disconnect from things that are familiar and to connect with Him on a deeper level and in a more profound way.
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