I AM study: Lesson Eleven

1. When is the last time you encountered a Fist Shaker? This may be a stranger to you or as close as a loved one in your own home. Does anything in our description help you to understand their animosity towards God? Are you able to have more compassion towards them?

Yes, I work with one. Any time anyone tries to discuss the Lord with him, he just turns off his usually very kind heart. I do have compassion toward him and pray for him to come to know the Lord, and for the Lord to melt the ice that has formed around his heart.

2. Does anything about Rahab's redemption strike a nerve? This may be a question you would like to ponder privately. Sexual sin and/or victimization can be an area where Satan has an enormous stronghold because it can hold so many painful and shameful memories. If Rahab teaches us anything, please know God can redeem any life and any situation, no matter how heinous it seems, and plant you unashamedly 'in the midst of Israel'. Rahab deserved death according to Mosaic Law, however she was shown nothing but lovingkindness by the God and nation of Israel.

I've long said that Rahab is the woman in the Bible that I can most relate to. I do not share specific similarities, but I do share the feeling that though I have made some not so great decisions in my life, the Lord forgives me and I can still be used for the good of His kingdom!

3. Is there an area of your life in which you feel you have come full circle? Where you've come to a place where everything and nothing are the same? (I'm thinking Lord of the Rings when Frodo goes back to the Shire after his long adventure. You have no clue what I just said if you are not an LOTR nerd so just ignore this if it doesn't make sense! :)

Ummm, not really..but I might as I ponder it! If I do, I'll be back to edit!

4. When you were born again, did you gain a new appreciation for your surroundings as Rahab did when she received the Promise along with the Promised Land? Has some old place, object, or relationship been redeemed by now serving a 'high and holy purpose'?
Yes, in a way. I can see the good in relationships, and why people were in my life when they were!

5. Believers can still be Fist Shakers. Do you have circumstances in your life in which you find yourself shaking your fist at God? Something He has asked you to endure, asked you to do, seemingly taken away from you? Can you see how shaking your fist is keeping you from your Promise? (I'm not talking eternal security here - Only abundant living.)

I've been guilty over the past few months of shaking my fist. This rash has really become trying to me. It is very hard to be a patient and calm teacher when all I feel like doing is laying down on an icepack or scratching the skin off my body. I pray that we are coming closer to a resolution to this, and have been asking friends for prayer that this is the case!