Joshua 2

Often our lives can be stopped dead by fear. What fear is your obstacle? For the Israelites it was the city of Jericho. They had a hard task ahead of them to try to take the land God has promised.

But God didn't just want the Israelites to take the land. He wanted them and all people would know His power and protection of His people. So they would know and fear Him.

God's assurance

It wasn't long before the king knew the spies had arrived. He was ultra-paranoid out of fear and so knew everything that was going on. The spies must have been terrified that they would be found. But God showed them the assurance that He gives to His people. His promise would be kept. Everything was going to be okay. He revealed to them the terror that Jericho had for the Israelites. The things they had heard about the Israelites' journey out of Egypt and across the desert. A terror that would help them win.

The ultimate danger that Jericho faced the Israelites with was that through their fear of their task they would stop fearing and trusting the Lord. It's a problem for us today. Our fears can become greater than God in our hearts and minds and push Him aside. We mustn't give our fears that power. We need to rest in the assurance of God and His promises. The be-all and end-all of our life is simply where we stand before God. Anything we might fear in this life cannot have an everlasting impact on us than God.

In the seat of our fears

God uses our greatest fears to show us His glory and power. Look at the spies here, and think about the disciples in the boat in the storm. By being faithful to them in their fears, God showed them His power and turned their fear into praise. In the seat of our fears God can reassure and empower us, for His glory. Jesus has done the very same on the cross. In that moment he destroyed everything that can give us fear. Paul puts it well in Romans 8 - we don't have to fear hardship, famine, persecution, nakedness, danger, or the sword. We are more than conquerors - more confident and victorious than the Israelites ever were after God razed Jericho to the ground and they captured the city.

The faith God seeks

Rahab is a great example of the faith God seeks. She believed what God had done for the Israelites was true. Based on that she was convinced of who God is. Thirdly, she chose to entrust her life to His mercy. She stepped out in her beleif that she would be safe.

The wonder of the Lord's grace

God uses a single person to bring about this transformation. She was the most unlikely person and believer. But her sins and life didn't stop God from using her to bring about His will in the world. He even went so far as to use her lineage to be the one that His son, our salvation, would be born into. His grace is so wonderfully amazing that He will use us in our weakness, for things that we can hardly imagine. As we realise this grace, we will realise the potential of everyone around us for God's work, and it will change the relationship we have with them, building us up into a united workforce for the almighty God.