By a Thread

<sup>Help and support can come from the unlikeliest of places.  How plans succeed can rest in the heart and the will of someone or a group of people that we haven't even considered.  There are people who are waiting to be used for good purposes and for noble ventures.  

In Joshua 2, as God's people were about to take their first city in the land that God had given to them, they sent some of their men on a dangerous reconnaissance trip.  They were staking out the land, assessing their needs, and plotting their method of attack.  

With their cover almost blown, help came to them from the most unlikely source ... a prostitute named Rahab.  Here's a bit of her story ... 

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Joshua 2:8-24: ⁸ Rahab went back up to her roof. The spies were still awake, so she told them: ⁹ I know that the Lord has given Israel this land. Everyone shakes with fear because of you. ...¹² Please promise me in the Lord’s name that you will be as kind to my family as I have been to you. Do something to show ¹³ that you won’t let your people kill my father and mother and my brothers and sisters and their families.

¹⁵ Rahab’s house was built into the town wall, and one of the windows in her house faced outside the wall. She gave the spies a rope, showed them the window, and said, “Use this rope to let yourselves down to the ground outside the wall. ... You made us promise to let you and your family live. We will keep our promise, but you can’t tell anyone why we were here. You must tie this red rope on your window when we attack, and your father and mother, your brothers, and everyone else in your family must be here with you. We’ll take the blame if anyone who stays in this house gets hurt. But anyone who leaves your house will be killed, and it won’t be our fault. ... ²⁴ “We’re sure the Lord has given us the whole country,” they said. 

“The people there shake with fear every time they think of us.”

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Even with a promise of success by God they still needed some help on the ground.  Their success was guaranteed because Rahab was a part of God's plan.  

I wonder what unlikely people God has in mind to cross our paths that we may enjoy the success of what he has for us.  How often do we miss out on the fullness of God's desire for us because we too quickly dismiss those around us who we don't think fit our design of success.

There will be days when we feel like we're just hanging on by a thread.  We need to remember that someone, an unlikely someone, has a red rope hanging from their window, ready and waiting to help us, encourage us, and in return experience God's goodness in their lives.

Let's not be too quick to dismiss the people who cross our path!