Who would have guessed?”

Submitted by: Pastor Paulette Harper Johnson

http://pauletteharper.com

Street Life

JOSHUA son of Nun sent two men secretly from Shittim as scouts, saying, Go, view the land, especially Jericho. And they went and came to the house of a harlot named Rahab and lodged there. Joshua 2:1

Woman in Focus: Rahab

God chooses unlikely 

God uses unlikely people to further His cause. In this story Rahab is a harlot. She would absolutely not have been chosen by men to be in the lineage of Christ. But her courage and attitude to protect the two spies did not go unnoticed by God. She recognized that the two spies had many things going for themselves: they served the God of heaven; she saw that the hand of God was on them and she heard of all the miracles that were performed by their God.

When the king of Jericho inquired of the whereabouts of the two spies she emphatically denied knowing their whereabouts - sending him on a wild goose chase.

There was something she needed from the two spies. She wanted her and her house to be spared and saved. Rahab wanted her act of kindness to be acknowledged and not go unnoticed.

As the story progresses the two spies and Rahab make a covenant or an oath between themselves. The oath guaranteed that her household would be saved at the time of God’s judgment on Jericho.

Prejudgement of people

Prejudgement

How many times have we overlooked someone because we have judged them wrong? We look at the outward condition of a person and immediately cast them aside not realizing that God looks within a person’s heart.  Rahab's outward condition did not merit her to even be considered as one who would be chosen to be in the lineage of Christ. But God chooses people not based on their current condition but He chooses them based on what He can do with and through them.

Emotional Breakdowns

Such as the case with me, let me ease your wondering minds, I was not a harlot but people sure did right me off. When I was going through my trauma I almost had an emotional breakdown. Making right decisions was something that was difficult to do.  There is a thin line between insanity and sanity and believe me I was walking a tight rope. Trying to figure out why things were happening to me and the bigger question, why God was allowing me to go through all this mess. 

God need everyone

God did not look at Rahab sordid, unattractive life but He looked at someone the world tossed aside and used her in such a way that He framed her great deeds in the book of Hebrews 11:13. I’m so very thankful to the way my life has turned out, would I have chosen this route for myself? Probably not, but God saw something in me that was worth saving.

I can now share, using pen and paper, the great deeds that my father has done for me.

That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works. Psalms 26:7

Devotional Reflections from the bible

Copyright 2012