I’m happy to annouce the winner of the devotional book and journal! The winner is…. Jeanie Benson busymominfo@yahoo.com Congratulations, Jeanie!!
When You’re Hanging By A Thread
I have a dear friend whose husband doesn’t want to be married anymore. Sure she knew there were problems in their relationship, but the devastating news of, “I want out,” blindsided her. As a sister in Christ, we’ve prayed together. She’s sought counseling and even invited her husband along. Still, no matter her attempts to save her marriage, it was falling apart.
I’ve never seen her so helpless, so troubled, so lost. And yet, I understood the darkness she was in. I know the weakness and heart-wrenching pain because I’ve all been there. We’ve all experienced some terrible news that took us by surprise and left us hanging by a thread.
Perhaps you’re there now. You may be experiencing a broken relationship. Maybe you need to be saved from some addiction or financial trouble. Whatever the case, you feel alone, scared and weak. You’re situation is hard, wrenching and painful. You’re losing your grip on faith.
I could tell that my friend was hanging on by a thread, slipping away from her spiritual foundation. Yet, sometimes in our despair all we’ve got is a thread between God and us. And that thread is more than enough to save us from destruction. Such was the case of Rahab, a prostitute that owned an Inn at the city gate of Jericho.
Rahab had heard about God’s greatness and has came to believe He was the one true God. So when the Israelites finally entered into the Promised Land, she hid the two spies that Joshua had sent into the city.
When the king of Jericho heard that the spies had been to Rahab’s home, he sent orders for her to turn them over. When the soldiers arrived, Rahab hid the spies on her roof. Then she lied to them about seeing the spies and sent them off in the opposite direction.
Then Rahab pleaded with the spies to save her and her household. She made a pack with them. She would keep silent about their mission, and they would spare her family when they invaded the city of Jericho. The spies told her to hang a scarlet cord from her window as a sign, so the Jews could find and protect her.
When the walls of Jericho fell, Joshua ordered that Rahab and her household be saved.
My favorite image from this story is the scarlet thread hung in the window of her home. It reminds me of the lamb’s blood carefully placed on each door in Egypt. The scarlet thread that Rahab hung carefully in her window would serve as a reminder that her home was to be spared from the destruction. It was to be passed over. Protected.
Each of us needs a scarlet thread in our window. A reminder that just as Joshua saved Rahab and the Savior can save each of us. He may or may not change our circumstances, but he can save us from the falling rubble that surrounds us.
We don’t read about Rahab again until we come to the book of Hebrews. There she is listed in Faith Hall of Fame. She is not defined in the bible according to her profession or circumstances. She is defined by her faith. Because she put her trust in God, she and her household were saved.
God will also rescue us when we throw out a thin thread of faith. Even at our weakest point, a simple cry such as, “Lord, help me” invites the hand of God to take hold of our situation and save us.