My favourite phrase I use, when people say, ‘Dahna you look amazing’, I often say, I do not look like what I have been through.
I have come to learn that your change begins when you surrender to a season of discomfort. There is a high chance that after going through your wilderness season or your season of discomfort, we tend to leave with a residue of what we have been through. The first image that comes to mind is a baby that has just been born. As soon as the baby comes out, the umbilical cord is cut and the baby is taken to be cleaned up before he or she is given to its mother. When you take the step to change, you have to expect turbulence and oppositions but it is important that when you get through, that you do not look like what you have been through.
I am not encouraging wearing a mask or hiding your scars because your scars are there as a reminder as to how strong you are, what I am saying however is that you have to allow a paradigm shift in order to go to the next level of your destiny.
Naomi instructed Ruth in Ruth chapter 3v3 to “wash, anoint herself and to put thy raiment upon thee”. Joseph had to shave himself and put on new clothing.
You see Ruth forsook everything that was known to her to go after a God she was not familiar with and worked in a field. Ruth had to pay a huge price. Joseph was stripped and thrown into a pit and after being falsely accused, was thrown into prison for two years. Naomi instructed Naomi to wash, anoint and put on new clothing, Joseph was called by Pharaoh and immediately shaved and had put on new clothing.
What Ruth and Joseph did was a type of preparation. When Esther entered the palace, she had to go through a series of preparation and purification for a whole year before she met the king. When you have gone through a season of hardship, God will take you through a time of purification, to purge away the stench of the past struggles.
Change is a process and three things takes place with every change. In Ruth 3v3, we see the process unfold in the life of Ruth who begins to move from working in the field to becoming the owner by marrying Boaz, the kinsman redeemer.
There are things that Ruth had to do first. She had to was, anoint and change her clothes.
To wash is to put away the past. To get to the future, you have to put the past behind you whether it is good or bad. When you wash, you are ridding yourself of what is holding you back. There is a mindset that needs to be shed before one can be promoted. Once you have been washed, allow the infilling of the Holy Spirit, this has to be done on a continual basis to prevent the old from trying to creep back in. Lastly Ruth changed her garments, sometimes you have to actually put some physical distance between you and what holds you to your past.
The best way to prevent yourself from going back to what is comfortable is to put some distance between you and it to get it out of your life.
The root word used for raiment in the scriptures is ‘simlah’ and it is a general word for clothes which in context could be a mantle. Ruth packaged herself for where she was going, instead of where she had been. Joseph did the same thing. In Genesis 41v14, Joseph changed his beard and changed his clothes because the Egyptians hated beards. He wanted to create a climate of acceptance in the palace of Pharaoh. Dr Mike Murdock puts it this way, “packaging determines desire”. Joseph did not go before Pharaoh with a hit list of all of the people who had hurt him in the process and Ruth did not start to burden Boaz with her past. She packaged herself in a way that made her unforgettable. Joseph’s wisdom and discretion led him to promotion. So my encouragement to you today is, dress spiritually and physically for where you are going, not for where you have been.
Research taken from ‘The Uncommon Achiever’ and ‘The Uncommon Achiever’ by Dr Mike Murdock
I Just want to take this time to honour the life of my grandmother, Rest In Peace Grandma a.k.a Aunt Mae
God bless you and thank you for reading.
Destiny Moments 