As you wake up this morning to the undecided announcement of our next President, either a sense of pride or perhaps a great deal of nervousness might fill your heart and mind. Regardless of who you voted for in this election, do you trust the order of events that God has orchestrated?
Many times, I wonder how my life would have been so different if certain things didn’t happen along the way; those specific events that changed the course and trajectory of my life. At the time, I did not see these events to be favorable or significant, but I realize now how pivotal they were in my life’s journey.
I am reminded of a woman in the Bible whose life was taken toward a completely different path because of a particular order of events in her life. This woman was not someone you would consider as Godly or someone that would be viewed as a pillar of the community. She was a prostitute and an idol worshiper.
However, she became the great, great, great-grandmother of Jesus and is even listed in the Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11:31 as, "Rahab, the prostitute."
The order of events that changed Rahab’s life forever started when Joshua sent two spies to check out the city of Jericho in preparation for a significant battle. By “coincidence” these spies ended up walking into Rahab’s house and stayed there.
As the story progresses, we see that during their stay at her house, Rahab declares her faith in God based on the stories she had heard. That faith allowed her to take action in harboring the spies and to devise a plan to help them escape. She also asked the spies to protect her and her family when they return for battle if she identified her house with a scarlet-colored rope.
Rahab’s courageous faith and her bold actions saved her household, and she charted a course toward the plan of God that had an impact for generations to come.
I believe God had Joshua send the spies specifically to meet Rahab, giving her the chance to confess her faith in God. Rahab’s faith pleased God so much that her actions changed the life of her whole family and ultimately grafted them into the family tree of Jesus.
There may be events in our life that seem pointless or that bring struggles and pain, but we must trust that they are within the plan of God. These specific events propel us toward what is to come, preparing us to handle upcoming battles, and giving us the victory that God has already planned for us.
Regardless of who will be in the Oval Office for the next four years, I am confident that God’s plan for the future of our country will be fulfilled. He has already planned out the order of events for His name to be glorified and for The Church to have victory.
