Friday, September 22 – Joshua 6:24-25
Then they burned the city with fire, and all that was in it. Only the silver and gold, and the articles of bronze and iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the Lord. However, Rahab the prostitute and her father’s household and all she had, Joshua spared; and she has lived in the midst of Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.
When was a time you knew someone was watching out for you? There is something humbling and comforting about knowing someone is watching out for you. This often requires we admit the need for help and protection. But also, because someone is protecting you, you can relax instead of constantly standing guard for yourself. In the moments leading up to the Israelites’ victory, Rahab and her family had to trust the Israelites to keep their word. She had to put her trust in God, that He would be faithful, instead of relying on how she could protect her family. Even accepting protection required the surrender of control. Rahab and her family surrendered their safety to God as they protected the spies, and they surrendered their comfort as they joined a totally new culture and people group.
Surrender to God is not just a onetime decision, it is a daily act to remember God’s way is higher than ours and that He will provide for our needs. Luke 9:23-24 says, “And He was saying to them all, ‘If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, this is the one who will save it.’” As followers of Jesus, we are invited into a life of daily surrender. This is humbling because it means relinquishing our control, but it is also comforting to give control to the One who is always faithful to His promises and will never let us go.
- When have you had a hard time surrendering control?
- When have you learned about God’s faithfulness through surrender?
- Pray and surrender the things you have been holding back from God.
