Joshua 2

A few years ago, during a trying time in my life I began attending a Sisterhood Bible Study. The women, the discussions, the prayers and most of all the presence of God were exactly what I needed. At the end of one of the sessions, I shared my testimony with the group. I felt like God wanted me to share the reality of what I was dealing with and how the Lord was seeing me through and healing my heart.

Shortly after I shared my testimony, the leader of the Sisterhood reached out to me. She asked me to consider becoming a small group leader. I prayed about it and talked it over with those closest to me and accepted. Shortly before the new season of Sisterhood was set to begin, we had a group leader meeting. I was excited to allow God to use me, but as soon as I sat down next to the other leaders, my excitement dissipated. To my right was a pastor’s wife. To my left sat an older woman who had led a group longer than I had been alive and she quoted scripture like she wrote the Bible herself. As I looked around at the women, all I could think was, “I’m not qualified for this.”

That night, I immediately came up with all of the reasons I couldn’t lead a group. I didn’t grow up in church, I couldn’t quote scripture, my life was a mess, I was too flawed and my past was not pretty. The list went on and on. After talking to the Lord about these feelings of inadequacy, I opened my Bible and turned to my devotion for that day from Joshua 2. The devotion focused on the story of Rahab, a prostitute who assisted two spies sent by Joshua to her city. Rahab hid the spies in her home and assisted them in fleeing. In verse 9, Rahab says, “I know that the Lord has given you this land” and later says to the spies, “for the Lord your God is God in Heaven above and on the earth below.” Rahab accepted God and allowed Him to use her for His good! Later, in Matthew 1, Rahab is mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus. This story showed me that the Lord can use anybody, regardless of their past or their flaws.

I wish I could say that this was the last time I compared myself to others. I wish I could tell you that I never again felt inadequate or underqualified to do God’s work, but I can’t. What I can say is that the story of Rahab is a constant reminder that God does not call those who are already equipped, He equips those who have been called. Recently, my bonus mom (aka mother-in-law) stated, “Just because you are not the best at something does not mean you are inferior.” This quote spoke to me. So many times in my life, I’ve compared myself to others and just because I don’t measure up, I feel as if I’m inferior and therefore unqualified to do what God has called me to do. This is the work of the enemy. The enemy wants us to feel inferior and ill equipped. However, we must look back at stories like Rahab’s. We must understand that the Lord can use us all. We simply have to accept Him, His will for our lives and rely on His strength. This is why Rahab’s story is so important to me and one of my favorites. God used a woman with a shady past to accomplish His goals. We are never too broken to do the Lord’s work!

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, thank You for Rahab. Thank You for her life – all of it. Thank You for sharing her story with us to show Your people that You can use each and every one of us. Lord, if anyone reading this today is avoiding the calling You have placed on their lives due to feelings of inadequacy, I pray they can learn from Rahab and many others in the Bible. Lord, where we are weak, You are strong. Amen.