Like any cliché missions team, we had to make matching
friendship bracelets, but these bracelets symbolize something deeper. They do
not only show our friendship, but also our mutual decision to let God write
our story. That is the theme of our trip after all: My Story: His Story
If there was one thing that I never thought I would get up
in a group of 50 students and say, it was that I could relate to Rahab (Joshua
2), you know the prostitute?
But I did, because I can.
While I've never had the same major sin struggle that Rahab did, I was caught in a similar trap. Rahab thought that she had life going for her, she thought she
was the one writing the story of her life. Really she was just writing scribbles when the Author of her life was standing by, ready to create a
masterpiece.
If there is one thing I love, it’s kids. Recently I was helping a toddler write her name. She tried many times to write it herself, but for some reason her squiggles and lines just didn't look write. Finally I jumped in and came to her aid. While we were both holding on to the crayon,
in reality I was the one doing the writing. While she proudly showed everyone
how she wrote her name, I smiled knowing that it was really in my penmanship. She thought she had things under her control, but really she didn't. If I wouldn't have been there to help her, she wouldn't have been able to write her name (or at least write it in a way that anyone could understand).
Rahab was like a young child, trying to write her own story of glory, love,
respect and honor, but really she was just writing a story of shame,
embarrassment and regret. Rahab had a heart change though. She took a step of
blind faith and she let down the red rope that would symbolize to the outside
world that God was the one in charge of her future.
Rahab let go of her carefully laid plans, and was caught by
the mighty hand of God. I've been like Rahab so many times, clutching tightly to the well drawn out plans for how I want things to go. My sweaty palms wrinkling the paper and running the ink. But my plans don't get me anywhere. Like plane tickets without a plane, I have promises of going somewhere, but no way to get there.
That is why we are all wearing these bracelets. These “red
ropes” are a personal reminder of the times in our lives where we had to let go
of our plans, in order to cling to God while He wrote something better for us.
At times our hands had to be pried off of the plans: unwilling and hesitant to
let go. Other times we came in full surrender: sweaty palms outstretched after
we realized that we could no longer hold on.
I am proud to say that out of all the bible characters, I feel
most connected to Rahab: the prostitute that one day came to her senses and
realized that writing wasn’t her strong suit, but that trusting was.
