Author’s note: today’s message may be triggering for some who are still walking through seasons where their choice was taken away from them. Please seek wise counsel for all you need.
I shared a message at my church and the topic was Rahab.
If you are not familiar, Rahab was a prostitute who because of her faith, was in the genealogy of Jesus, and, the mother of Boaz.
As I prepared the message, I realized that Rahab wasn’t a Bible character that I would have chosen to speak on. I’ve always loved the story of Abigail and how she exercised wisdom is saving King David from killing her husband, even though her husband was a foolish man. I’ve loved her story so much, that that had been the name I chose for my own daughter.
But, for this message, a theme was emerging, and I was asked to speak on Rahab.
Some years ago, I had read a book by Francine Rivers called ‘A Lineage of Grace’, where she breaks down the stories of five biblical women. And, last year, when a client came to see me, she brought me the hard copy, big print book. It was a very thoughtful gesture.
As I started thinking about what I wanted to share, I knew I had to go back to this book and the story that had been told around it. The author, while using the Bible as the basis of the story, created a story with conversations and thoughts that could have been realistic at the time.
In the book, for Rahab’s story, in order to secure her family’s future, her father gave her to the king. And over time, Rahab became a prostitute.
While I don’t know if this is the truth, the conclusion I came to was that sometimes we choose our circumstances and sometimes our circumstances choose us.
There are times in our lives that we make decisions, not knowing what the outcome will be, and other times, others make decisions for us, that lead us on a path that will take years of healing and intentional work.
While I don’t know what you are facing today, I pray that you will make choices that honor who you are and are growing to be. That you will seek God for all you need.
In Joshua 1, God tells Joshua four different times to be strong and courageous. I don’t think that’s an accident.
Friend, you will also need to be strong and courageous to take your next steps.
Dear Heavenly Father, sometimes choices that other people make impact us for a very long time. Sometimes, the choices that we make impact us for a very long time. Would you please allow us to process and heal so that we can live the lives that you have called us to lead?