Rahab and Faith

Every night before bed, I read a story to the boys out of their children's Bible. Tonight's story was about Rahab from the book of Joshua, a prostitute in Jericho who hid two Israelite spies so that they wouldn't be captured by the king. Her motives were very self-serving. She knew that the Israelites would eventually take over the land and she believed that if she helped them, they would in turn deal kindly with her and her family when they were the ruling party.

So, here she is, a woman pursuing a lifestyle that could be considered questionable at best (although sex was one of the few commodities a woman had at her disposal in this period to make her own living), who makes a choice to help some people against the king's wishes. Surely, she must have weighed the risk of such a decision, but she had heard that God was on the side of the Israelites, and she had the faith to believe that they would succeed in their quest to overtake Jericho.

I need more faith like that, and the courage to take action (even unpopular action) when it is called for. I need to believe that God will provide, just as Rahab believed that if she helped the Israelites, they would in turn help her.