Not Strong Enough
With a single click of the mouse, I was making a choice. If I clicked the send button, the future that I had so carefully crafted would be instantly obliterated, gone without a trace. But to close the window on my computer screen without sending the email would be even worse than destroying my future; it would be ignoring the reality of the present. There was no choice, yet there was no part of me that was not hurting because of what I knew I had to do.
With my hand white-knuckled on the mouse, I cried out, “God, am I doing the right thing? I want nothing more than to be obedient to You, but I am not even sure what that looks like anymore. I need wisdom and peace; I’m so tired of the endless turmoil. Am I messing up Your plan?”
And it was in that moment that I felt a whisper soothe the most distraught places in my soul.
You’re not strong enough to mess up My plan.
With that message reassuring the anxiousness within me, I clicked send. My hands shook for the next hour, my stomach did not settle for days, and I had no idea how I would survive the coming destruction, but I did. And each step forward has carried me away from “what might have been” and toward “what He promised will be.”
A few weeks later, as I was reading the story of Joshua and the walls of Jericho, I felt this same whisper dance joyfully in my heart. Earlier in the story, before the people of Israel began their march around the city which would later cause the walls to crumble, Joshua sends two men into Jericho as spies to scout out the land. The two spies end up at the home of Rahab, a prostitute, and yes, I have so many questions about that. However, we’re going to move on because that is not the point of this post.
Ahem.
Back in Jericho, the king receives word that spies have infiltrated his land, and he tracks the spies to Rahab’s house. Showing great courage and an allegiance to the Israelite God, Rahab hides the men under the stalks of flax drying on her roof. Her quick thinking saves the lives of the two spies, and in exchange, they vow to save her life and the lives of her entire family when Israel eventually attacks Jericho.
Before they report back to Joshua, the spies instruct Rahab to tie a cord of scarlet thread to a specific window to her home – the very same window through which the spies escape. Much like the lamb’s blood that was painted on doorposts to shelter the Israelites from the plague of death in Egypt, this scarlet thread would serve as a symbol to the Israeli warriors to leave Rahab’s home unscathed.
However, what I have failed to notice over many readings of this story is that the spies did not yet know God’s plan of victory over Jericho. They did not know that God’s hand would crush Jericho by crumbling the very walls that housed Rahab’s family. The story of Rahab and the spies is found in the second chapter of Joshua, but God does not give His first marching orders to the Israelites until Joshua chapter 6. How could they have known that their words to Rahab would be, at least on the surface, in violation of what God had already ordained? Weren’t they messing up God’s plan?
I wonder if the spies panicked when they heard the plan was to walk around the walls of Jericho until the walls physically crumbled. Did they mentally calculate how they would salvage their promise to Rahab? Did they picture themselves digging through the wreckage to pull her family to safety? I wonder if their hands shook and their stomachs cramped, wondering how Rahab and her family would survive the coming destruction?
In my mind, I can see the spies making their seventh trip around the city, keeping the scarlet thread outside Rahab’s home in sight at all times. They had given their word to her, and no matter what happened next, they were going to keep their word.
Adrenaline must have spiked when the trumpets blew, ushering in the deafening rumble of stones crashing to the earth. How long did it take for the dust and ashes to clear? Did they scour the ground, looking for the scarlet thread amongst the rubble and carnage? Or did they see the thin section of wall that housed Rahab and her family standing tall and unscathed, the scarlet thread blowing gently in the clouds of acidic smoke?
That’s apparently what happened, as impossible as that might seem. The biblical narrative tells us that the victory at Jericho honored the promise the spies made and Rahab’s obedience to the one true God. Rahab and her family were spared when the nation of Israel conquered the city of Jericho. In fact, Rahab is listed in the genealogy of Jesus. It seems implausible. Or does it?
During early excavations in 1907-1909, German archeologists uncovered a section of the Jericho wall that had not collapsed. Interesting, right? Even more compelling, there was evidence that houses had been built into the wall, just as is described in the Biblical narrative.
Did the archeologists find the home of Rahab? I believe so, but truthfully, I do not know with one hundred percent certainty. What I do know, though, is that never in the story of Rahab and the spies was God smacking his forehead, mumbling, “Why did you say that? My entire plan is foiled!” as He scrambled to produce an alternate plan. In fact, if they would have listened closely, I believe they would have heard a quiet whisper from God.
You’re not strong enough to mess up My plan.
Friends, the God we serve is more than able to use our obedience in ways that cannot be imagined. That, alone, is amazing news. But what quiets my anxiety the most is that His plan for my life has already factored in my less-than-stellar-ness: my failures, my blunders and bad decisions, my boasting big mouth and even my willful disobedience. He knows that I am a sinner constantly in need of His grace. He created me; of course He knows. That’s the point: He knows and can use me anyway.
Oh, how often have I gotten that wrong? How many times have I fretted, believing that my actions, one way or another, have the power to alter God’s overarching metanarrative? The future God has in store for me – and for you – is not blessed because of our measly contributions; we are blessed simply because we are Children of the Most High, and it’s our honor to contribute to His plan for humanity. Yes, obedience to God requires faith in His goodness and His faithfulness to His covenant to us, but rest assured, God’s plan and purpose will always prevail. Always.
Isn’t that such a relief?
We’re not strong enough to mess up God’s plan.
A person may have many ideas concerning God’s plan for his life, but only the designs of God’s purpose will succeed in the end.
Proverbs 19:21 TPT
“I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.'”
Isaiah 46:10 NIV