Thursday, August 24 – Joshua 2:14-16

So the men said to her, “Our life for yours if you do not tell this business of ours; and it shall come about when the Lord gives us the land that we will deal kindly and faithfully with you.” Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was on the city wall, so that she was living on the wall. And she said to them, “Go to the hill country, so that the pursuers will not encounter you, and hide yourselves there for three days until the pursuers return. Then afterward you may go on your way.”

Have you ever wondered or asked what was in it for you when someone asked you to do something? We all want to know our investment—whether time, money, or effort—will be worth it. What is interesting about Rahab is that she had already sacrificed her life before the reward was offered to her. Her primary goal was not safety, it was to serve God and His people, and from that she received safety, not the other way around. Many times, we are motivated to serve God because of what He will do for us instead of following Him for who He is. This often results with anger toward God when we don’t see the immediate results we want.

When our objective is to live for God, we commit to doing so in the waiting and in the fulfillment of His plan. When our goal is the things we can get from God, we become impatient and frustrated when He doesn’t do what we want. God will give you everything you need to follow Him; He will remind you of His promises; He will provide other people to help you; and He will give His Spirit to direct you. First Peter 4:10-11 says, “As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the multifaceted grace of God. Whoever speaks is to do so as one who is speaking actual words of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” Our ultimate aim is to glorify God, and we can trust Him with the eternal reward that will come when we live for Him!

• Who do you know who lives in a way that glorifies God in every season?
• What is the difference between living to glorify God and serving God to get what you want?
• Pray and ask God to show your areas of selfish intent and to help you turn from those for His glory.