9/18/2023 0 Comments A Scarlet Thread Runs Through It
Like Rahab, I looked for love in all the wrong places. The weight of my shame held me captive for many years until I met people like me in the story of God’s people. Does your story have pieces you have tried to cut out or run from? God has already gone before you to restore your life. As the Israelites prepare to enter the land God has promised them, Joshua sends two spies to check out the land on the other side of the Jordan. This is when we meet Rahab, the prostitute. She is the one who saves the spies from certain death by hiding them. In return, she asks them to save her and her family. She says, “For we have heard how the Lord made a dry path for you through the Red Sea when you left Egypt" (Jos. 2:10). She knew who they were; she knew their God was powerful. Crossing the Red Sea wasn't last week's news. It has now been 40 years, yet they still remember. They had heard the stories. God always goes before us. The spies gave her a scarlet cord to hang from her window. A red rope would signify to the invading army to save her family. Just as the blood of a lamb painted on the Israelites’ doorposts in Egypt was a sign for the Angel of Death to pass over their homes. The scarlet thread, the lamb's blood, runs throughout God's story, foreshadowing the lamb that would be our salvation. As promised, the two spies save Rahab and her family before Jericho is destroyed. This woman who was looked down upon saved the spies who, in return, saved her. Despite her circumstances, she held tight to the scarlet cord and became part of God's history. Along with Sarah, she made the “Hall of Faith” in Hebrews, and she was one of five women listed in the genealogy of Jesus. Sitting around a table of perfect women at Bible study wasn’t where I wanted to share my story of shame until I met Rahab. Those pieces of my life shine the light of God’s love, His mercy, His redemption. Recognizing the past allows us to see God's scarlet cord of redemption throughout our life. Does your story have pieces you have tried to cut out or run from? Cry out to Him and hold onto that scarlet cord that leads to redemption and allow God to weave the broken pieces together. “The Lord your God himself will cross over ahead of you.” Deuteronomy 31:3 (NIV)
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Devotionals by AuthorAll Abby McDonald Alexa Gearhart Angi Morrison Anna Bearden Anne Say Audra Powers Breanna Faith Spearman Brenna Kurz Brittany Marlow Caroline Hultgren Courtney Filippin Dana Schaefer Danielle Biddy Debbie Burns Heather Kenny Jannetta Cox Jessica Parker Jess Ridgeway Joan Lavori Katelyn Wilson Katie Gibson Kelly Orlowski Kerri Barfield Keryn Stokes Kristen Williamson Laura Pendley Lindsay McNeely Lonette Baity Martha Rudolph Nancy Ehlinger Renee Robinson Saretta Wells Tara McGill Taylor Watkins Tierney Nashleanas Wendy Gerdes |