Recover all.
(AN EXCERPT FROM DR. THOMPSON’S HARVEST AUDIO SERIES)
Ruth 1:22 - So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter in law, with her, which returned out the country of Moab: and they came to Bethlehem in beginning of barley harvest.
When Naomi and Ruth come to Bethlehem, they seem to have lost everything. Both women are childless widows, and Naomi’s grief is tripled for the death of her husband and two sons. She returns home empty, with no hope of recovering from such great loss. But it’s harvest time, and God has another plan. She and Ruth are not only about to recover. They are about to recover all. And so are you.
When you come into harvest after experiencing periods of immense loss, God positions you to reap and recover. He releases fresh grain and strengthens your will to reign, and then He crowns you with honor. Honor is the greatest seed, so when He bestows it upon you, He empowers you to recover the greatest harvest of your existence.
The first thing you recover is time. Naomi and Ruth return to Bethlehem after 10 years in Moab, but God allows them to come back at just the right time – the beginning of the harvest. They haven’t been around long enough to plant anything, but both women reap double for their shame. First, the Lord allows them to reap provision for a season, and then, prosperity for a lifetime. He grants them a generational harvest to ensure that every descendant, from David to Jesus to you, would be able to manifest beyond the constraints of time. In harvest season, God will show you how to redeem time and reap from numerous seasons. He’ll bring things full circle and allow you to see old acquaintances, revisit previous settings, and recall former dreams to heighten your awareness of everything that He is about to restore and all that you are about to recover.
The second thing you recover is your name. When Naomi initially enters Bethlehem, she tells the residents to call her Mara, which means bitter, because she believes God has dealt bitterly with her. But after she and Ruth are redeemed, she realizes that instead of dealing bitterly with her, the Lord has dealt bountifully with her, and the woman answers only to Naomi. Boaz redeems her lineage, but God redeems her name, because in the harvest, you get your name back. And when you get your name back, you get your nature back. God cancels the assignment of everything that could discredit your name or discourage your nature, and raises your self-perception to the level of His purpose. Be encouraged! You’re about to get your name back.
The last thing you recover is strength to receive what you never had. After Ruth marries Boaz, she conceives Obed, the grandfather of David. Though she had been married to Naomi’s son for ten years, Ruth isn’t able to conceive until she comes into her ordained harvest. The same God who opened Sarah’s womb, Rebekah’s womb, Rachel’s womb, and that of so many others, gives Ruth the child she never had and Naomi the grandson she thought she would never see, because when God brings you into harvest, He doesn’t just restore what you lost. He also restores what you lost hope for. He is committed to restoring all, but you must be committed to recovering all, and you can only recover where you are willing to return.
Returning does not mean that you will revive or relive the past (you won’t). It simply means that you will reclaim and recover all the manifestation connected to it. To maximize your current harvest, ask Holy Spirit how to reap from the fields God gave you in the past, and be courageous enough to go back and get your stuff. This is how you will redeem the time. And when you go back, don’t worry about those who saw you empty. In the harvest, God will turn their faces to your favor and away from all that looked like failure. He will erase the memory of lack and only allow them to behold you in an abundant state. They will see you in your prosperity and know that you are the one whom the Lord has blessed! Get up, go back, and pursue! In this harvest season, you shall surely recover all.