Joshua 2:8-11 – 8 Before the men lay down, she came up to them on the roof 9 and said to the men, “I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you. 10 For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction. 11 And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you, for the Lord your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath.”
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One of the greatest mistakes that the people of God tend to make is to predict the success or failure of something based solely on what we can see. Think of how often you do not share your faith with a lost person because, in your mind, that person is not “ready” to hear the gospel. Think of how often you choose not to obey the commands of God because you feel that something is amiss.
The example of disobedience that God brings to mind in Joshua 2 is the disobedience of the people of Israel from years before. The spies of Numbers 13-14 told the people of Israel that they could not take the land because of the opposition they would face. The people believed the spies, and God forced them to wander the wilderness until an entire generation died.
But look at the words of Rahab. She tells the men Joshua sent into Jericho that, when the people of her city heard about what God had done through the nation of Israel, all of their courage left them. All the hearts of the warriors melted with fear at the proposition of facing the Lord’s army. God was working behind the scenes to bring about the impossible.
Now, think about that witnessing encounter that you have avoided or that command of God’s you have refused to obey because you think that circumstances are not right. The truth is, you and I have absolutely no ability to read circumstances. This is because WE have no way to know what God is doing behind the scenes to accomplish his will. It could be that, though you cannot see it, the Lord has placed great conviction on someone’s heart. It could be that, though you don’t know it, the Lord has already made a way to help your financial ends meet when you choose to give faithfully to his ministry. It could be that God has already put in place how you would be able to give away something of value in your life and yet still live for him.
Rahab’s words tell us that God is working in ways that we simply cannot see. Therefore, we must learn to trust the Lord, obey his commands, and do what seems to be impossible.
Pastor Travis Peterson 