“Then Joshua the son of Nun sent two men as spies secretly from Shittim, saying, ‘Go, view the land, especially Jericho.’ So they went and came into the house of a harlot whose name was Rahab, and lodged there.” Joshua 2:1
“…for the LORD your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.” Joshua 2:11
And then the spies declared their faithfulness…
So the men said to her, “Our life for yours if you do not tell this business of ours; and it shall come about when the LORD gives us the land that we will deal kindly and faithfully with you.” Joshua 2:14
And a scarlet thread sealed the deal.
Rahab had been the outcast. Shunned – Used – Abused – Despised – Rejected. Now she was a woman who was protecting God’s guys and declaring her faith.
Her life had been riddled with one poor choice after another yet now she had a chance to do something good – to trust with her heart what she new in her head – to place her life in the hands of the Living God and believe that He could redeem her broken soul and make something beautiful out of the ashes of her past.
Only God can do that! Only God can take a life so marred by sin and make it a beautiful vessel of grace that cries out through the portals of time…
GOD MAKES ALL THINGS NEW!
You see, sweet friend, it doesn’t matter how far you are from God. Rahab’s redemption resounds with the truth that you are never too broken, too unclean, too unlovely or too unloveable for God.
Rahab’s redemption also reminds us that the outcast, the broken and the unlovely are just a declaration away from redemption. God doesn’t call us to judge them, He calls us to love them.
He is the Judge.
We are His witnesses.
He judges it all in the end.
We love people to Christ until the end.
I’m so thankful God loves us too much to leave us like we are – that He loves us beyond who we are and what we’ve done – that He loves us in spite of us…and that He delights in making beauty out of the ashes of our lives.
He did it for Rahab. He did it for me. And He’ll do it for you.
You see, if you know my story, you understand why Rahab’s story speaks so loudly to my heart. Perhaps, like me, you have been battered, abused or broken. You may think you’re too far from God to be redeemed. But you can trust Him to do just that… to redeem your story! You can trust Him to make your life beautiful!
Maybe He already has and this post reverberates with familiarity.
If so, take some time and thank Him that you are not who you were – that He has redeemed you – that like Rahab, He has given you a new life, a new direction and a new destiny.
I love the story of Rahab’s redemption, don’t you! She went from Rahab the Harlot to Rahab the Redeemed…to Rahab, David’s grandma – to Rahab, the woman that made the “Genealogy of Christ” (Matt 1:5) and “Roll Call of Faith” (Heb 11:5) list.
Only God can do that! Only Christ can change the list you’re on! Only the Lord can take you off the list of the rejected and put you on the list of the redeemed!
Have you let Him do that for you? Have you given Him the ashes of your life and let Him redeem you?
If you have done that and you’re now a Christian, are you holding on to the ashes of your past? Do the broken places of your mind still whisper shame to your heart and cause you to question your identity in Christ?
Don’t you think the remembrance of Rahab’s reality sent chills through her heart? Other’s may have remembered who she had been, but she knew who she had become.
Know who you are in Christ, sweet friend. Let the redemption of Rahab remind you of your own.
I pray today’s post ministered to your heart in one of four ways…
- That it called you to give your ashes to God and let Him redeem you and make you His.
- That it reminded you of who you are in Christ and that you will let go of the shame Christ died to set you free from.
- That you’ll take the time to edit your life – to consider where the road you’re on will take you.
- That you remember what He saved you from and rejoice in what He has saved you to.
Stephanie, I love the way you started this Blog. Very endearing and real. This is an utterly selfish statement, but, I wish you lived in Orlando. Nuf said. 😉 The line that stood out most to me is when you said, “Only the Lord can take you off the list of the rejected and put you on the list of the redeemed!” I love that. My life between the ages of 6 and 13 were marred with rejection. Through those 7 years, everyone (without exception) who was charged with the responsibility to care for me after my mom died (when I was 6), rejected me through every imaginable form of abuse. Even my adopted mom, who chose me out of dozens of children to be her daughter, decided I wasn't the daughter she dreamed of all those years, rejected me by verbally, emotionally and physically abusing me. When you're rejected over and over as a child by numerous different adults, it wounds to the core of your soul. So, I am living proof of your statement, “Only the Lord can take you off the list of the rejected and put you on the list of the redeemed!” Only our Heavenly Father is able to redeem such deep soul wounds and turn them into something glorious for His Kingdom as He uses us to minister out of our brokenness.
Shelly ~ I wish we lived closer too! We really are going to have to work out a way to get together. Maybe we can do a conference together or something. How cool would that be if God opened that door! 🙂
Childhood wounds certainly do run deep. It breaks my heart to know other people have walked a similar and painful path. But you're so right…God alone can redeem those deep wounds and turn them in to something glorious! He really does heal and help us minister out of our brokenness.
Love that!
BY the way…I really would love to connect some day soon! 🙂
Stephanie, That would be amazing if God opened such a door for us. 😉 And … I'm asking the Lord to make a way for us to connect. We will and it will be a sweet day when we do. 😉
That would be amazing! But then again He's an amazing God who does exceedingly, abundantly above all we could ask or think!
Can't wait to connect one day…hopefully soon! 🙂