You have so much more potential than you realize. When you allow yourself to be used by God, there is no limit to the positive change you can make in the life of the people He puts in your path. I cannot begin to count the number of times in my 40 years that I have watched as one person made a difference in the life of many. It is amazing how much difference one with courage to speak as others keep silent in fear can make. Or how quickly one with humble wisdom can diffuse an explosive situation. The one with a servant’s heart, willing to do the work everyone else walked past can be the example to the rest to take ownership and fix what needs fixing. How many times in your own life has someone appeared at the right time and right place to say the words you needed to hear to get up and get back after it?
Rahab is such a one. She was discounted and discarded by everyone in her world, yet God saw fit to send Joshua to rescue her. Rahab’s rescue was not just for Rahab though! Her testimony concerning the attitude of the people in the land is the confirmation of God’s promises the people of Israel needed before they began to take the land God had given them. Joshua 2:24 records the report of the spies based on Rahab’s testimony, “Truly the Lord has given all the land into our hand. And also, all the inhabitants of the land melt away because of us.” This one woman did what the spies could not do 40 years prior as the people stood and doubted God’s power, Rahab’s faith was the spark of revival the people of God needed! Let that sink in, she changed the world by simply trusting God and telling others why. Jesus wants to use you today. Are you willing to be the one that He uses? If you are He simply calls you to, Trust the Lord and tell others the reason you do! One way God uses us is to encourage other believers, as Rahab’s testimony strengthened the Israelites, your testimony can give encouragement to the people of God. As you consider your plans for this weekend, please do not discount your importance in the life of the church. The author of Hebrews encourages us to come together for the purpose of giving each other strength in the Lord, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:23–25, ESV) I understand this text is often used to beat up on people for missing church but that misses the point. The point here is not simply regular worship attendance though it is extremely difficult to encourage people you never see, the point is to stir up one another, that is energize each other for serving the Lord. We come together not to check off our, “I went to church box,” but to give others strength as we ourselves receive strength from them. You see, each one needs the ONE, the Lord Jesus, and we cannot stay close to Him on our own. We need one another to keep us focused, to keep us strong, to keep us energized for the work at hand. So please never feel like your presence among God’s people is anything less than essential and world changing for those around you. Let us praise God for putting that collection of people in our path that have helped to give us hope and a deeper faith in Christ and ask Him for the grace to be that one He uses in the life of someone today.
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