Living in Victory
Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfector of our faith.
Hebrews 12:1-2a
A new year is a good time to reflect on the past, make changes that improve life, and to honestly deal with any unconfessed sin. God is always faithful to forgive and remove it, but Satan sometimes has other plans for lingering guilt and shame.
Rahab is a beautiful example of how completely God forgives our sins. She was a prostitute in Jericho who hid two spies that Joshua sent to scout out the land. She’d heard how God had dried up the Red Sea and conquered many lands across the Jordan for His people, and she believed He would conquer her city for them as well.
On the day Jericho fell, Rahab and her family were spared. The two spies rescued them and brought them outside the Israelite camp. She eventually assimilated into the Jewish culture and then became King David’s great-great grandmother, which means she is in Jesus’ lineage.
What I love about this story is how God used broken, sinful people to accomplish His purpose. What hope that inspires!
Sometimes, however, we get weighed down in the shame of our sin. Satan wants nothing more than to render us useless. If he can keep us bound with chains of shame of our pasts and make us feel like we aren’t worthy of forgiveness, or that this particular sin is unforgivable, he will do it!
I wonder how Rahab’s story might have been different if she lived in the shame of her past and didn’t believe she was forgiven and a child of God.
Forgiveness isn’t something God does because we earn it. He forgives because of who He is. Guilt is a good thing because it brings us to confession. Shame, on the other hand, is a lie of the enemy. It brings condemnation and blame.
In Romans 8:1 it says, there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. So, when Jesus breaks chains of bondage for us, let us not stand there refusing to let them go. Help us to drop those suckers, step over them and walk away.
Johna Clemons
