She had the reputation of a harlot and a track record to back it up.
If God was going to use a woman to impact history in amazing ways, he shouldn’t have used this woman. Why would God use her, a harlot, when there were so many other well-put-together women around?
We don’t know all of the details of this woman’s story, but we do know this.
Rahab, the prostitute, was the mother of Boaz (Ruth’s husband) and the great-grandmother of David (a man after God’s own heart).
In fact, Rahab was honored to be one of the few women in the lineage of Jesus.
Rahab the harlot, the woman who’d given her body away as a way of making money, was chosen to be in the lineage of Jesus. She was given one of the greatest honors any woman throughout all of history could have ever been given.
God chose to use an imperfect woman, with a repentant heart, to accomplish amazing things.
I wish we, as Christian women, would slow down to remember stories like Rahab’s. I wish we would slow down and remember the women that God chose to use for Kingdom purposes.
In today’s blog, I want us to slow down for just a bit.
If you struggle with guilt, shame, embarrassment, and/or pain over your own lost virginity, I have a word of hope for you.
Your worth has nothing to do with your virginity or your lost virginity.
Your worth has nothing to do with your good or bad works. Your worth has nothing to do with your reputation. Your worth has nothing to do with anything you’ve ever done or ever will do. You can’t earn your worth and you can’t lose your worth.
Your worth is found totally and completely in the love God has given you through His perfect Son, Jesus Christ.
Sadly, the enemy, Satan, so desperately wants you and me to pay for our sin.
He wants you to believe that your sin is so bad that God could never forgive it. He wants you to believe that Jesus is so ashamed, embarrassed, and disappointed in you. He wants you to believe that God doesn’t really love you. He wants you to believe that your worth as a woman is tied up in your own perfection and holiness.
We have some words for the enemy. Not today, Satan!
His future is sure (read about Satan’s future) and we know the True King who will reign forever and ever.
We reject the enemies lies and we will not let him destroy our lives.
We have a God that will have the final say. We have a God that sent His perfect Son, Jesus Christ, to pay for our sins once and for all. He has every power, every authority, every control, every sovereignty, every reign, every right, every perfect love, and every plan for our futures.
Hear this truth loud and clear.
God loved each one of so much that He sent His son, Jesus, to die on the cross for our sins. He didn’t send Jesus to die for perfect, holy, upright people. No! He sent Him to die for wretched sinners. He sent Jesus to the cross to pay for each and every sin you have committed and will commit.
Please do not spend the rest of your life living in guilt over the sins that Jesus has already paid the price for.
You don’t have to pay the ultimate price. Jesus has paid it.
You can have true and lasting forgiveness for anything you’ve ever done. No matter how horrendous, God will forgive you.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).
Think back to the life of Rahab (read more about her story here).
If she had believed the lie that God only used “good girls” and “perfect people,” the very lineage of our Savior would look different.
Thankfully, she was able to accept the forgiveness of God and went on to live an amazing life for God.
That is what I want for you.
I want you to walk in the forgiveness that God is offering you.
Don’t live your life trying to pay for your own sin. Accept the work Jesus has already done and move forward in freedom. Yes, there may be earthly trials, challenges, and scars that we carry because of past sin. But, that doesn’t define us and that doesn’t hinder God from using us in huge and awesome ways.
I would also encourage you to read, Lost Virginity: Practical Help to Reclaim Your Future, to help you gain even more wisdom and truth in this area.
Let’s talk.
What’s keeping you from walking in freedom?
Will you choose to accept the forgiveness that God has offered you?