The Fear of Falling: Fall Guys 101 and the Story of Rahab (Joshua 2)

I… was… terrified. My palms were sweating, my forehead was dripping perspiration… even my FEET were sweating. My FEET. I felt a wave of anxiety wash over me as I knew that not only was I about to attempt something I had never done before, but I could also feel the eyes of the others in the room that were also fixed directly on me. My stomach was knotted up with tension as I realized that it was now or never… and once I attempted this jump there was no going back. There was nowhere left to go and no time left to think… I either had to attempt to leap forward towards victory or remain where I stood, paralyzed by fear… and become enveloped by the slime.

Yes, you read that correctly…the slime. The slime that had been patiently pursuing me throughout the obstacle course… the slime that had filled in all of the space behind me and continued to inch ever closer to me and the rest of us who remained on the playing field in this level of Fall Guys. If you haven’t played Fall Guys yet, it is a truly amazing example of a multiplayer free-for-all that requires almost equal doses of luck, skill, and patience in order to succeed. Fall Guys plays at a frenetic pace as every player in the field of 50 participants fends for themselves through a variety of obstacle courses and activities, and as the challenges get progressively harder this number gets rapidly whittled down until only ONE player stands tall at the end with the crown. And I have found success with almost EVERY one of the crazy challenges that Fall Guys has thrown at me… except for Slime Climb, that is.
The level called “Slime Climb” is exactly as I described it… a race to the finish line where you and your competitors all must run, jump, and dash across increasingly slippery and ever narrowing surfaces while the slime behind you slowly catches up. Even the most methodical player has little room for error as the slime slowly removes your options for making a mistake… if you slip and fall at any time after the midway point you can pretty much expect that the slime has cut off your options for advancing. It never stops, it never slows down… it just SLIMES its way toward you emotionlessly, unaware of the panic that is setting in as it grows ever closer to the remaining players.

Life can be much the same way… problem after problem closes in on us, with each new bit of drama seeming completely oblivious to the challenges we have already overcome just to be here today. And all of the yelling, screaming, crying and denying won’t slow it down… it is forcing us down a path in which the only options are to join those who have already lost or to make the blind jump towards the next safe zone. And if there is anyone who would understand that conundrum it would be Rahab, a woman who was thrust into a position that required more than just faith… it required GUTS. If you aren’t familiar with Rahab, it’s time to become so.

Rahab was gainfully employed as… ummm… look, I didn’t write this story, okay? Honestly, it might help us to know that our heroine today didn’t exactly start out as a Disney princess. Rahab was a harlot in the city of Jericho, a wicked city that was marked for destruction. As a prostitute making her living in a city of idol worshippers, Rahab had nowhere to go but up. And things were about to look up in a major way as we find her destiny intertwined with the destiny of the entire Israeli country in Joshua chapter 2…

Joshua 2:1-7 Now Joshua the son of Nun sent out two men from Acacia Grove to spy secretly, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” So they went, and came to the house of a harlot named Rahab, and lodged there. And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, “Behold, men have come here tonight from the children of Israel to search out the country.” So the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who have entered your house, for they have come to search out all the country.” Then the woman took the two men and hid them. So she said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. And it happened as the gate was being shut, when it was dark, that the men went out. Where the men went I do not know; pursue them quickly, for you may overtake them.” (But she had brought them up to the roof and hidden them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order on the roof.) Then the men pursued them by the road to the Jordan, to the fords. And as soon as those who pursued them had gone out, they shut the gate.

This is a pretty bold move, hiding the spies of an enemy army on the roof of your home. Nobody asked her to do it, but she put herself out there as an ally of God’s people and made a choice not only for herself, but for her entire family as well. And if they were going to avoid the slimy consequences that were about to devour the entire city, a dramatic leap of faith was not only called for, but necessary.

Joshua 2:12-16 Now therefore, I beg you, swear to me by the Lord, since I have shown you kindness, that you also will show kindness to my father’s house, and give me a true token, and spare my father, my mother, my brothers, my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death.” So the men answered her, “Our lives for yours, if none of you tell this business of ours. And it shall be, when the Lord has given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with you.” Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was on the city wall; she dwelt on the wall. And she said to them, “Get to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you. Hide there three days, until the pursuers have returned. Afterward you may go your way.”
Rahab put herself out there and decided that she was going to throw herself at the mercy of a God that she didn’t even know, but that she chose to believe in anyway. She put her life and her entire families life on the line and made the jump… and not only did she land safely on the other side as the SOLE SURVIVOR of the city of Jericho once the walls came down, but she earned an entirely different crown as well…

Matthew 1:1-5 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham: Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers. Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot Ram. Ram begot Amminadab, Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon. Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David the king.
Did you catch that? Rahab was the mother of Boaz (the man who married Ruth), making Rahab the great-great grandmother of King David… and more importantly she is part of the chosen lineage of Jesus Christ Himself. She is one of only FOUR women named in the genealogy of Christ… and one of the few examples from the writer of Hebrews used as an example in the classic “heroes of faith” chapter…

Hebrews 11:31 By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace.
I hope this has encouraged you that regardless of where you started or how challenging your current situation is, the Lord has a plan not only for your survival, but for you to be an example to others through your faith. It may feel like the slime just keeps inching closer towards you… that’s because it IS. But we can make that leap of faith without the fear of falling, because we know that He who began a good work in each of us is also faithful to COMPLETE it (Philippians 1:6). He didn’t leave Rahab behind once she had served her purpose, and He didn’t merely save her from destruction either. He picked her up and planted her in the family tree of His own Son… not because she had a clean past, but because she had demonstrated a desire to throw herself in faith at His mercy seat. And the same path away from the ever-encroaching challenges of this world awaits us as well, if we will faithfully make the leap towards His grace and provision. It may seem like you are jumping towards nothing… and you may have sweaty palms and anxious feelings before you jump. But nobody who has chosen to take fall into His arms has failed to stick the landing.