We all have had scenarios in our life where God has challenged us to join His work in something impossible. Far beyond the reaches of what we could ever possibly achieve in any human terms. And something that doesn't seem to make sense to anyone who knows us.
I want to share a bit about one such area that God has been challenging me in for quite some time. I have been participating in a bible study entitled "Experiencing God". In this study, the process of knowing and doing the will of God is broken down into 7 different iterative stages that God takes us through over and over again as He brings us through the sanctification process.
This is the third time I've participated in this study.
I am now in week 8 of the 12 week study, and I've come to a place that God is reminding me of something He already laid on my heart when I last did this particular study 10 years ago. The message hasn't changed, but I think my heart has changed. I am ready to say yes to God. I don't yet know what that yes might look like, but I do know that I'm ready to comply.
As part of the study the last few weeks, God has led me to the book of Joshua. I know that I've read this book many times, but right now I can't seem to drag my gaze elsewhere. There is something about this book that has me fixated. I am in awe of the promise that God fulfills in this book, which has been forthcoming with the Israelites for forty years.
As the first chapter of Joshua starts out, God reminds Joshua of the promise he is preparing to fulfill. Finally, after 40 years, we're about to see this thing happen! As we move into chapter two, God now commands Joshua to send two Israelite spies into Jericho to see what the lay of the land is. What? I thought God was going to deliver this promise!
The first thing that I'm learning through this book is that God's timing is perfect when it comes to his promises.
As part of this exciting detour, God brings them to the doorstep of the prostitute, Rahab. She has been hearing the murmurings among the locals in Jericho that the God of the Israelites delivered them from Pharaoh as they crossed the parted Red Sea (wow) and also delivered them from the two Kings of the Amorites (double-wow). Rahab is more afraid of the God of Israel than of what her own people might do to her if they find her hiding these two Israelite spies.
The second thing I'm learning is that God meets us where we are. He knew exactly what Rahab's state of mind was, and he knew what she needed to hear and see to have the courage to say yes.
As I continue on in Joshua read each chapter, the next chapter to grab hold of me lands us in Joshua 6. God starts the chapter telling Joshua that he has already given him this city (Jericho). God directs Joshua to march around the city for six days and reveals that he will take down the wall. God is planning to do this without requiring Joshua to lift a finger against the enemy. Huh? That sounds a little cuckoo. Did God just say he was going to knock over a wall by marching an army in circles and blowing horns?
As God asks Rahab to hide the Israelites in chapter 2, I can see the reasoning in this request. It's clear that the Israelites have God's favour and it is to Rahab's benefit to obey in hopes that she will gain their favour and her own life. However, when God asks Joshua to march around the wall, this does not make sense from a wordly perspective. It takes a lot more faith than the first request.
What we learn here is that as we begin to grow in our knowledge of God's character, God may ask us to trust him and obey, even when it doesn't make any sense at all.
It says in Joshua 6:25 that when God delivered Jericho through Joshua, "he spared Rahab, her father's household, and all that she had." Again, this drives home my point about God's timing. He could deliver Jericho to the Israelites without Rahab, but He chooses to take a detour and involve her in his plans.
I want you to jump to another place in our bible where God asks one of his followers to trust him. Please read Esther 4:14. I want you to pay attention to the wording here. "For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your Father's house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?"
The wording of this is similar to Joshua 6:25. A contrast worth noting is here. Our yes to God could spare us and our households, whereas no could mean that we perish. I want you to see, as I have, the gravity of a yes or no to God's command.
Let’s continue on with this dive into the contrast of Esther and Rahab. Did you know that Rahab is the mother of Boaz (the one from the book of Ruth) who also happens to be the grandmother of Jesse, the father of King David? Additionally, many of you may already know that Jesus is in the direct ancestral line of King David.
As I dig through the history and genealogy of Rahab and Esther, I learn that Esther is the many times great-granddaughter of Rahab. Were she to have said "NO" to God's request, she would have removed herself from a part in history that eventually lands us at the foot of the cross.
What does this all mean to me? Well, I'd say everything. As women, we all have our moments with God that require a yes or a no. It's not always easy to see how this yes could be good for us (or the ones we love). However, if we trust God at His word, it may just very well lead us right to the salvation of our entire ancestral line.
And as this conclusion led me to my "everything", you have my yes here in front of you today. My first act of obedience to God. I'm writing.
