In the book of Joshua we are introduced to one of the greatest females heroes of the faith, Rahab. You can read her story in Joshua chapters 2-6. The beginning of her story does not put her in the best light, she works as a prostitute. As the historical narrative unfolds we a given a glimpse of her faith in God that ultimately changes her life and she becomes part of the lineage of Jesus Christ.

Her story is much like ours. We are not worthy, we all have a past, we all have things we have done that we are ashamed of. However, when we put our faith, hope, trust in God all of that changes. We are no longer identified by our past failure or behaviour but we move forward with a new identity as a child of God. Rahab had to take a great step of faith in a God she did not know much about, but when she did, her life was transformed and she receives recognition in the Bible as a woman of faith.

One-liner: Faithful to God without knowing much about God.

Joseph’s story can be found in the book of Genesis from chapters 37-50. As a teenager Joseph was an annoyance to his family, he was a tattle-tale, he was daddy’s favourite and rubbed it in, and then he was so arrogant about a dream that one day his entire family would bow down to him. So his brothers got rid of him, sold him off as a slave and faked his death.

As Joseph grows and matures he finds success, injustice and imprisonment. In the face of all these circumstances Joseph’s faith is deepened to understand the sovereignty of God rather than the difficulties of his circumstances. His faith is summarized in this one statement when he is reunited with his family, “you intended to harm me, but God intended it for good” (Gen 50:20). It is his faith in God that sees beyond his own circumstances that he receives recognition as a man of faith.

One-liner: Faithful to God when your circumstances don’t make sense.

The story of Daniel can be found in the Old Testament book titled…what for it…Daniel. Daniel’s story demonstrates how to live faithfully to God in this midst of a society and culture that does not recognize God. The theme of God’s sovereignty occurs numerously throughout this historical and prophetic narrative. Daniel’s faithfulness to follow God in this midst of a society that points away from him is why he is seen as a hero of the faith.

One-liner: Faithful to God when the world around is not.

The story of Gideon can be found in Judges chapters 6-8. Gideon is called by God to be a mighty warrior despite the fact that he has no military training and does not consider himself to have any skills associated with being a warrior. After asking God for some signs he takes a step of faith to lead an army. His faith is tested even more when God takes Gideon’s army and whittles it down to 300 men to oppose an army of 135 000. God does this so that Gideon and the nation of Israel would learn and remember that God is their deliverer. After their victory the people want to make Gideon king, but his response echoes the lesson that God wants his people to remember, that all this was possible because of God, not people. Gideon’s faithfulness to follow God’s instructions against human logic is why he is regarded as a hero of the faith.

One-liner: Faithful to God even when you don’t consider yourself good enough.

Peter also known as Simon Peter and Cephas is found throughout the New Testament. He was an outspoken disciple, one of Jesus’ closest friends and the disciple on which the church would be built. One of the qualities of Peter is that he was often brash. He was one who would act first, speak first without thinking much of the consequences of such actions or words. He would even deny Jesus 3 times and even through his failures, God would still use him. It’s a simple reminder that God uses those who are not the most educated, the most patient or the most cerebral, but rather someone who just willing to follow Him.

One-liner: God is faithful even when we are faithless.

The story of this husband and wife team is told in Act 18. Aquila and Priscilla were good friends of Paul and were instrumental in the building of the home churches in Corinth and Ephesus. This husband and wife team worked as tent-makers by trade and grew in the knowledge of Jesus Christ together and their home was always open to people who wanted to learn more about Jesus Christ. This team always had a desire to build others in the faith.

One-liner: Their faith in God moved them to build the faith of others.

Proud, stubborn, disobedient, unfaithful, complainer, ill-tempered, anger, racist, resentful, these are not necessarily the qualities of a great person, but this was Jonah. You can read his story in the Old Testament book Jonah. God called Jonah to go and warn the Ninevites of their doom. He did so, reluctantly after having run in the opposite direction, getting caught in a storm on a boat, being thrown overboard and being swallowed by a giant fish. God calls and invites people who are arrogant, ignorant and immature and still uses them for good purposes.

One-liner: God does not invite the qualified, He invites us just as we are – imperfect.

Nehemiah responding to God’s invitation to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. This task would not be simple and he faced much opposition and many obstacles along the way. The story of Nehemiah can be found in the Old Testament book Nehemiah. Nehemiah was a person of prayer, he was always putting every decision before God in prayer, he often prayed for his people and he has a vision to complete the task God has given him.

One-liner: Prayer, faithfulness and perseverance to a faithful God.

We don’t even have a name. She was the maid of Naaman’s wife. Her story is short and sweet in 2 Kings 5:1-19. We have about twenty words to describe all that we know of this servant girl, she speaks one line in the narrative. We know she believed in God, she was young and she was a maid. Yet, she would make an impact on Naaman, his wife, a King, the prophet Elisha and others who saw this story play out simply because of her faith that God would heal Naaman, through Elisha, and God did.

One-liner: Faith in God can make lasting impacts in the lives of others.