Have you ever been labeled? I'm sure at some time or another, to some extent, we have all been labeled. 'Perfect Mom', 'Workaholic Dad', 'Compulsive Cleaner', 'Control Freak', 'Geek', 'Drug Addict', 'Harlot', 'Divorcee', 'Unwed Mother', 'Fanatic Christian'....good or bad, we have all been labeled. I was labeled as a child, and I am sure I've been labeled as an adult....even as a Christian. Whether we have heard that label voiced or not, we have felt it or seen it in the way we've been treated by others.
Satan wants us to be bound by labels. But, those labels do not have to define us. I Samuel 16:7b states "for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart." (KJV) Such was the case of Rahab, "the prostitute". People saw 'prostitute", 'but God' saw her heart....a woman of destiny.
Rahab chose to listen to God instead of the labels/people. She chose to follow the heart of love and reverence she possessed for Him. Proverbs 23:7 declares, "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he." Rahab believed in her heart that God was the Lord of the Universe, so she followed what she knew....not what she heard.
God used Rahab as as example to us to show us that we are "all" usable of God in some way....big or small...if we will only allow Him to use us. Donna Partow, in her book, "Becoming A Vessel God Can Use" , says not through our "self-confidence" are we able, but through our "God-confidence" we are able to accomplish anything in Him. She also asks, "Why wasn't Moses or David labeled as 'murderers' and carry that label even now?" They both were murderers. And yet, to this day Rahab carries the label 'Rahab, the harlot'. Do you wonder why?
I believe, along with the author, that God allowed Rahab to be labeled, even today, in order to show us that He can use anyone as far off the beaten path as she was, and, in that, to accomplish whatsoever He desires. Those people that we would think so unlikely. These are the people He wants to use.
We are "all" usable. No matter where we've been or what we've done. We just have to be willing. And remember....Rahab became the mother of a wonderful man named Boaz, so she must have been a 'great mom'. She also became the grandmother of Jesus. Regardless her label, she did not allow it to hold her back. She had a heart for God. Do you?
Read the story of Rahab in Joshua 2, and see for yourself that God delights in using those we would think unusable, and yet, those who possess a heart for God, believe Him, and choose to follow Him instead of the crowd. Maybe then you will be happy to know that God can, indeed, use YOU, regardless the labels. I know I am!!!
Blessings!
Jodi
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Age: 57, Belton, SC
Me and my Husband, Vernon
My book, "Tried by Fire", published January, 2005
A Place to Share Your 'Fiery Trials'
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Jodi
Age: 57, Belton, SC
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About Me
- JODI
- United States
- I am married to a wonderful man. I have one son, one deceased daughter, Christy, a granddaughter, Brooke, and a step grandson, Kyle. I have authored one nonfiction book, "Tried by Fire" that candidly reveals how my daughter's twenty-seven month illness impacted our lives and emotions. I am victorious. I am a survivor. I survive because of HIM. And I know with God 'all' things are possible. He has brought me through so much, and without Him I would not have made it thus far. I want to be a help, in whatever way, to those who will allow me to in order to bring glory to Him.
Me and my Husband, Vernon
Brooke & Kyle
My book, "Tried by Fire", published January, 2005
"Tried by Fire" Summary
In early September 1987, in the small southern town of Calhoun Falls, South Carolina, sixteen-year-old Christy Bowman was filled with life-long dreams of graduation, college, and a career. The day she was sized for her high-school ring, her dreams were soon replaced with reality as she was diagnosed with autoimmune hemolytic anemia. Experience her story as you read how she endured great odds and treatments, encountering both known and research. Her twenty-seven-month struggle will mystify you, amaze you, enlighten you, engross you, bless you, and sadden you. You will find disappointment, encouragement, laughter, and tears as you come to know a girl who maintained a great faith in God and an all-out "true grit" against all odds. Her undying strength and insurmountable courage will amaze you. I hope you will be able to see how God revealed Himself many times and in many ways to show that she was in His care.
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