A woman of crazy confidence in Christ.
A strong woman leader.
I know many people are hesitant of women pastors and we are intimidated by strong, women leaders.Our culture doesn't like the word 'submissive' and women put their defenses up when they have to submit to any man.
If you will open your mind for a bit. . .
Deborah was living an ordinary life in Israel as a mother, homemaker and counselor. She was respected and people came to her for wisdom and comfort.
Israel promised God they would be faithful to Him alone. They were not to worship any other gods or intermarry with people of the land. And sure enough not long after they promised, they were worshiping other gods, and being selfish and greedy. They accepted God's blessing but didn't obey His word. Don't we still do that today? We fall into that same pattern. When the Israelites turned their backs on God(Judges 2), God turned His back on them. Scripture says God burned with anger. God does not condone disobedience or evil. We say we're faithful to God and then we seek our own selfish desires. So the Israelites found themselves in trouble, stuck in a rut; Sisera was oppressing them, the Canaanites were destroying their property and temptation was all around.
God just sat back. They didn't need Him.
Then one day they couldn't endure the struggles alone anymore and they cried out to God for help. And God brought Deborah to lead them through.
Deborah encouraged the Israelites to turn back to God and they would be delivered. She saw a NEED and DID something about it. She saw their suffering for years before they asked for help and she spent many hours in prayer. Deborah had the gift of prophesy and when people came to her for help, she gave hope of a better day. With time spent in prayer and her prophetic gift, she developed a deep trust and faith in God. She wasn't seeking fame or power, she was seeking God's will for the people. She pressed on with purpose to help fight this battle they were facing.
I love that she knew her role as a woman and yet respected man in his role when she called on General Barak to help lead the troops into battle. And Barak stepped up to his role, yet still respected Deborah in her role as well. Side by side they pressed onto battle, fighting as God commanded. I just love that picture of woman and man's roles being played out the way God intended. God uses strong women but He created men to lead ahead of women.
I picture Barak courageously forging on, but a little timid in his faith and pulling strength from Deborah's unwavering faith. They were a team, a pair, a duo conquering battles and saving Israel from inevitable peril.
It wasn't an easy battle to fight. Some of the tribes of Israel still refused to join the fight, some were timid, and some preferred to protect their land.
Are you refusing to fight a battle God is calling you to fight?
Are you being timid?
Are you just hanging back to pursue other selfish desires?
I am inspired by Deborah.
She AWOKE to the need, ROSE to do her part, and MARCHED on with the Lord to victory.
Do we see a need?
Are we rising to the challenge?
Think about your priorities. . . .
Do you use the word 'busy' multiple times in day?
Are you too busy to fight for a friend?
Do you value relationships or busyness?
Are you fighting for others?
Are you fighting to have time for what's important?
Are you loving others so deeply you would spend time praying for them?
I am lovingly challenging you to really look at yourself, look you week, look at your day, think about what you say to others, what you value and what you make time for. We can learn a lot from Deborah and see she fought for a worthy purpose, she loved deeply and prayed often. She had an unwavering faith and a solid trust in God alone.
I am challenged by her life today.
"Lord, may all your enemies die like Sisera! But may those who love you rise like the sun in all its power!" Judges 5:31
A strong woman leader.
I know many people are hesitant of women pastors and we are intimidated by strong, women leaders.Our culture doesn't like the word 'submissive' and women put their defenses up when they have to submit to any man.
If you will open your mind for a bit. . .
Deborah was living an ordinary life in Israel as a mother, homemaker and counselor. She was respected and people came to her for wisdom and comfort.
Israel promised God they would be faithful to Him alone. They were not to worship any other gods or intermarry with people of the land. And sure enough not long after they promised, they were worshiping other gods, and being selfish and greedy. They accepted God's blessing but didn't obey His word. Don't we still do that today? We fall into that same pattern. When the Israelites turned their backs on God(Judges 2), God turned His back on them. Scripture says God burned with anger. God does not condone disobedience or evil. We say we're faithful to God and then we seek our own selfish desires. So the Israelites found themselves in trouble, stuck in a rut; Sisera was oppressing them, the Canaanites were destroying their property and temptation was all around.
God just sat back. They didn't need Him.
Then one day they couldn't endure the struggles alone anymore and they cried out to God for help. And God brought Deborah to lead them through.
Deborah encouraged the Israelites to turn back to God and they would be delivered. She saw a NEED and DID something about it. She saw their suffering for years before they asked for help and she spent many hours in prayer. Deborah had the gift of prophesy and when people came to her for help, she gave hope of a better day. With time spent in prayer and her prophetic gift, she developed a deep trust and faith in God. She wasn't seeking fame or power, she was seeking God's will for the people. She pressed on with purpose to help fight this battle they were facing.
I love that she knew her role as a woman and yet respected man in his role when she called on General Barak to help lead the troops into battle. And Barak stepped up to his role, yet still respected Deborah in her role as well. Side by side they pressed onto battle, fighting as God commanded. I just love that picture of woman and man's roles being played out the way God intended. God uses strong women but He created men to lead ahead of women.
I picture Barak courageously forging on, but a little timid in his faith and pulling strength from Deborah's unwavering faith. They were a team, a pair, a duo conquering battles and saving Israel from inevitable peril.
It wasn't an easy battle to fight. Some of the tribes of Israel still refused to join the fight, some were timid, and some preferred to protect their land.
Are you refusing to fight a battle God is calling you to fight?
Are you being timid?
Are you just hanging back to pursue other selfish desires?
I am inspired by Deborah.
She AWOKE to the need, ROSE to do her part, and MARCHED on with the Lord to victory.
Do we see a need?
Are we rising to the challenge?
Think about your priorities. . . .
Do you use the word 'busy' multiple times in day?
Are you too busy to fight for a friend?
Do you value relationships or busyness?
Are you fighting for others?
Are you fighting to have time for what's important?
Are you loving others so deeply you would spend time praying for them?
I am lovingly challenging you to really look at yourself, look you week, look at your day, think about what you say to others, what you value and what you make time for. We can learn a lot from Deborah and see she fought for a worthy purpose, she loved deeply and prayed often. She had an unwavering faith and a solid trust in God alone.
I am challenged by her life today.
"Lord, may all your enemies die like Sisera! But may those who love you rise like the sun in all its power!" Judges 5:31
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