Entry: 11/8/02
“8 Before the spies lay down for the night, she (Rahab) went up on the roof 9 and said to them, "I know that the LORD has given this land to you and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. 10 We have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. 11 When we heard of it, our hearts melted and everyone's courage failed because of you, for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.” Joshua 2:8-11
Can I rant about something? I have never understood why some football coaches, great coaches at that, use a “Prevent’ type of pass coverage defense in the latter minutes of a game or half. In my opinion all the “Prevent” does is prevent a team from winning. Physically a Prevent is soft, loose and the bend but not break reasoning is psychologically damning. The underlining flaw in the Prevent Defense is this, “We want to stop the opponent from making a big play and will give a little ground as a compromise.” The Prevent is not a normal defensive adjustment with normal personnel but often one made out of fear. Worse than that, it reduces the defensive warriors on the field to the awkward position of trying to NOT let the opponent score instead of pinning their ears back and doing what they are trained to do-blowing things up!
The losing team tries NOT TO LOSE in the fourth quarter when up by a point. The alcoholic sees Friday night coming and does everything their power to “not drink this time.” The snowboarder who leans into the mountain instead of down it is heading for a fall. The mountain biker that stares at the rock in the trail has already hit it. The pastor worried about messing up his sermon just did. The "B-baller" who tries not to miss a free throw, will.
In this passage Rahab reports to the spies that, “our hearts melted and everyone's courage failed because of you (11).”
People are intimidated by history. We are defined in part, by our history, but we also know that history can be broken, changed and recreated to form perseverance, a new hope, and a better future (Jeremiah 29:11, Romans 5:1-5, James 1:2). It is painstaking work to chisel out a future that will eradicate the past.
Remembering one’s history with failure can be a paralyzing factor. Memories of failure can create a caution that prevents the victory that is often won through reckless abandon and not well thought out caution. Caution is the subtle fear of losers. Winners hold the trophy before they ever hold the trophy. Losers hand the trophy over before they ever hand the trophy over.
The godly man must play to win, never play NOT TO lose. These attitudes are worlds apart.
Someone once said that “If we forget our history we are destined to repeat it.” History defines people, cultures, movements and yes, Christians. History is either a source of great vision or great fear. To rewrite the future a man must first come face to face with his history. He cannot look to the future until he has acknowledged his history. History is heritage and legacy but can also be fear, bondage and uncertainty. Instead of bringing great freedom when seeing the future, the bondage of history can breed everything but freedom within a man.
Do not play a Prevent defense with your life. YOU are responsible for the history you will create. That history will be formed to the degree in which you are willing to go for it with abandon!
