Waiting on the Precipice

We stand on the precipice of a new year. That usually brings feelings of hope for what could be, and reflection on what has been. And something in the middle called waiting. Hope for what could be and wonder that is hasn't happened yet. I wonder, at the end of the year, what you are waiting for.

When it comes to living beyond your past do you, like Rahab, stand waiting, watching, for the final straw that will usher you into the unfettered life you've hoped for?  When the words” leave behind” and “live beyond” will be more than hope, they’ll be reality?

Rahab watched, and then she heard it. How much had she heard about Him! She was hearing the sound of His faithfulness. He was coming to rescue her. First it was the rumbling of the army marching, then the trumpets. For six days, she heard the sounds of deliverance.

But still she waited.

On the precipice of a new day, the sound of the army and trumpets filled the air. This time, something more rang out.

"Shout! For the LORD has given you the city! The city and all that is in it are to be devoted to the LORD. Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house shall be spared, because she hid the spies we sent.” (Josh. 6:16-17)

The Hebrew word for “let live” or in my NIV1984 “shall be spared” is chayah and it means to live, to revive, give (promise) life, nourish up, preserve (alive), recover, repair, restore (to life), revive, God save (alive, life, lives), surely, be whole.

Be whole.

Stop and breathe it in.

Yes surely, to be whole.

He is faithful to every individual to make them whole when they believe. Not just get you out of sin yet still be broken; rather to deliver you and make you whole. God showed up for Rahab and the command was: destroy this place that is wicked and that holds her in, and let her surely be whole. God promised her Life and it was time to live in it.

Are you ready for your walls to come down? Are you ready to be revived and restored to life? Are you starving to be nourished up? Do you surely want to be whole?

Then the time has come. Right now, those walls can come down! Jericho’s walls were no match for the I AM. They were brought down in an instant and never rebuilt. Everything inside was devoted (or given over) to God, never to be taken back.

Wholeness for us, as for Rahab, means that walls that have held in place the lies and sin residing in our spirits, souls, and bodies are going to come down. The walls of life patterns, views of the world and sex, how we approach relationships, how we view men and ourselves, how we see our bodies, even how we have, until now, understood and related to God—all those walls are going to come down.  We do not have to be held captive or live any longer inside those walls. Christ said He came to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners. (Isa. 61:1) Christ’s life and death were the shout, and His resurrection brought the walls down! Now we get to leave behind the rubble of our old spirit-soul-body ways and walk in wholeness and new life with Jesus. What are we waiting for?

With the thrill of His freedom in full view, understand that wholeness also means everything inside the walls is going to have to be given over completely to God. None of that will be allowed to be held on to, or come with us when we leave. It can’t be a part of living beyond, because we won’t really be living beyond. We’ll just move a bit and claim a “fresh start,” only to discover that we brought trouble and destruction with us. (Josh. 6:18)

Take time to consider what you are waiting for. Do you believe that God can bring down the walls that you have built up in your spirit, soul (the seat of thoughts and emotions), and body that stand against Him and hold you and your sin inside them? Whether you feel captive or in some ways comfortable, talk to Him about what’s inside your walls that you’ll have to give to Him. He knows already, but He wants to engage your heart and show you what real freedom means.

If you stand on the precipice of living beyond your past, today is your day. Today, the walls come down. Today, you get to leave your past behind. Today, you get to be whole.

Just another seed of my faith,

Ginny