Joshua 2

When courage shows up

And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath. ~ Joshua 2:11

Have you ever considered that the very place you feel overlooked could actually be where God has positioned you for purpose? Today’s scripture reading introduces Rahab, a woman whose past and environment would have caused most people to count her out to have any value in the kingdom of heaven. Yet in a critical moment, she made a decision that changed everything for her and for the entire nation of Israel. She chose faith over fear and courage over comfort. Her story reminds us that God is not limited by where we’ve been, He is moved by our willingness to trust Him right where we are.

This chapter shows us that God often works in unexpected places through unlikely people, and that includes you and me. Here are three truths to think about from today’s passage.

1. God sees faith where others see flaws

Rahab was known for her past by the people around her, but God responded to the faith in her heart. She had heard about the power of God and chose to believe Him even before she saw Him move in her own life. Her confession in Joshua 2:11 reveals a deep conviction that God was Who He said He was.

In your daily life, this means you don’t have to wait until everything looks perfect to trust God. Maybe you feel disqualified because of past mistakes or current struggles. Choosing faith looks like believing God can still work through your life today. For example, you may feel unworthy to speak encouragement to someone at work, but when you step out and do it anyway, you are operating in faith, not perfection. God meets you in that step.

2. Obedience opens the door for protection and promise

Rahab didn’t just believe, she acted. She hid the spies and followed through with the instructions she was given. Her obedience became the open door for her safety and the salvation of her family.

Following God’s plan for your life may look simple, but it carries weight. It might be choosing to forgive when it feels easier to hold onto hurt, or taking a step God has been prompting you to take even when it feels uncertain. For example, if God has been nudging you to reach out to someone, encourage them, or make a change in your routine, following His leading positions you to experience His covering and guidance in a deeper way.

3. Your decision impacts more than just you

Rahab’s choice didn’t just affect her, it brought protection to her entire household. One act of faith created a ripple effect that extended beyond her own life.

You may not always see the full impact of your obedience, but it matters. Your choice to trust God can influence your family, your friends, and even future generations. For example, when you choose to prioritize time with God, your children or those around you begin to see what it looks like to seek Him first and His righteousness. Your consistency becomes a testimony that points others toward Him.

It’s no secret that I came out of a past of a shady reputation. There were many moments when I felt the tension of knowing what God was asking of me but wrestling with whether I could truly follow through because of the shame I carried. I convinced myself that there was always someone better for the mission. Someone with a cleaner background or a more “godly” life.

I remember having a conversation with the Holy Spirit, telling Him I wasn’t the best person for the assignment because of how messed up I had been. It was in that moment that I sensed Him gently remind me that obedience in the present matters more than mistakes in the past. The very things I had gone through, the brokenness, the missteps, the early years I wished I could rewrite had actually positioned me to reach people for such a time as this.

When I chose to move forward with courage, even in uncertainty, I watched God meet me in ways I never could have planned. What once felt like a risk of bringing attention to my past, has now became a doorway into His purpose for my life.

Today I want to encourage you to trust that God sees you right where you are and is inviting you into something greater through simple acts of faith, courage and obedience. Just like Rahab, your response matters. You are not disqualified by your past, and you are not forgotten in your present. God is working through your willingness to say yes.

Today’s scripture reading: Joshua 2

1 Now Joshua the son of Nun sent out two men from Acacia Grove to spy secretly, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” So they went, and came to the house of a harlot named Rahab, and lodged there. 

2 And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, “Behold, men have come here tonight from the children of Israel to search out the country.”

3 So the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who have entered your house, for they have come to search out all the country.”

4 Then the woman took the two men and hid them. So she said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. 

5 And it happened as the gate was being shut, when it was dark, that the men went out. Where the men went I do not know; pursue them quickly, for you may overtake them.” 

6 (But she had brought them up to the roof and hidden them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order on the roof.) 

7 Then the men pursued them by the road to the Jordan, to the fords. And as soon as those who pursued them had gone out, they shut the gate.

8 Now before they lay down, she came up to them on the roof, 

9 and said to the men: “I know that the Lord has given you the land, that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you. 

10 For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. 

11 And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath. 

12 Now therefore, I beg you, swear to me by the Lord, since I have shown you kindness, that you also will show kindness to my father’s house, and give me a true token, 

13 and spare my father, my mother, my brothers, my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death.”

14 So the men answered her, “Our lives for yours, if none of you tell this business of ours. And it shall be, when the Lord has given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with you.”

15 Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was on the city wall; she dwelt on the wall. 

16 And she said to them, “Get to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you. Hide there three days, until the pursuers have returned. Afterward you may go your way.”

17 So the men said to her: “We will be blameless of this oath of yours which you have made us swear, 

18 unless, when we come into the land, you bind this line of scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you bring your father, your mother, your brothers, and all your father’s household to your own home. 

19 So it shall be that whoever goes outside the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be on his own head, and we will be guiltless. And whoever is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head if a hand is laid on him. 

20 And if you tell this business of ours, then we will be free from your oath which you made us swear.”

21 Then she said, “According to your words, so be it.” And she sent them away, and they departed. And she bound the scarlet cord in the window.

22 They departed and went to the mountain, and stayed there three days until the pursuers returned. The pursuers sought them all along the way, but did not find them. 

23 So the two men returned, descended from the mountain, and crossed over; and they came to Joshua the son of Nun, and told him all that had befallen them. 

24 And they said to Joshua, “Truly the Lord has delivered all the land into our hands, for indeed all the inhabitants of the country are fainthearted because of us.”

 Journal:

• What is one area where God is asking me to trust Him more right now
• Is there something I have been hesitant to obey that I need to take a step toward today
• How can my faith today influence the people around me in a positive way