We
all love the story of Deborah. Something awakens inside of us when we
hear the story of this brave Warrior Princess.
When we look at
Deborah, it feels like she was almost living ahead of her time. Her
role in the Bible was stunning. She was a Prophetess and a Judge,
ruling over the political and personal matters of the people of
Israel. Using the governmental structure that Moses set up, it was
her job to see to the affairs of her people, just like a Queen would.
Every great story requires an evil plot, and this story
definitely has one! In Deborah's day, darkness covered the land as a
group of fearsome bullies took advantage of Israel and terrorized
them. This enemy oppression had been going on for twenty years, and
the Lord was ready to end it!
Apparently, God had already said
something about this before, because at the beginning of her story,
Deborah sent a reminder message to Barak, a commander of the
Israelite army. "Has not the Lord God of Israel commanded, 'Go
and deploy troops at Mount Tabor, take with you ten thousand men...I
will deliver him into your hand.'?" {Judges 4:6}
She
nudged Barak with this promise. The victory was already theirs! All
they had to do was rise up and ride into battle.
But Barak
wasn't so confident. He told her, "If you go with me, then I
will go. But if you do not go with me, I will not go!" {Judges
4:8}
Whenever I read this part, I can't help but laugh. Not
because Barak sounds like a coward, but because all too often, I
sound just like Barak.
It's so easy for us to say to our friends,
"If you do it, I'll do it. If you think this is a good idea, and
you approve of me, then I want to do it. But if I don't have your
approval and applause, and I'm left standing all alone here, then I'm
not going to do it."
Deborah had a different perspective.
She had the perspective that all heroes must have. She had Heaven's
perspective. Which meant, she feared God and NOT man. She didn't take
man's opinion into account when she made her decision. She wasn't a
people pleaser. She was a God pleaser!
She told Barak, "I
will surely go with you, nonetheless, the honor shall not be yours on
the journey you are about to take, for the Lord will sell Sisera into
the hands of a woman.” {Judges 4:9}
There are so many
things that I admire about Deborah, but my favorite thing is her
daily decision to be bold and take action. She saw something was
wrong, and so she did something about it. Simple as that. She didn't
need a pat on the back, her BFF”s approval, or applause from her
people. Deborah decided that something else was more important than
fear, and that was the freedom of God's people! Her love for others
swallowed up any concern for herself, her own safety, or well-being.
Like Esther, she must have said to herself, "If I perish, I
perish." {Esther 4:16}
She had already conquered the
fear of death, and defeated the monster of self-preservation. She was
able to give her all, because she didn't believe that her life was
her own. She knew that her every breath belonged to God.
In the
New Testament, Paul really urges us to sink our teeth into this
truth. We are already dead. Our lives are not our own. We are hidden
with Christ, and everything we are belongs to Him. {Check out
Colossions 3:3, Romans 12:1 & Galatians 2:20}
If we
embrace this perspective (the fact that we are dead and hidden in
Christ!), when God asks us to do hard things, it's no longer an inner
battle to decide whether we're going to obey or not. It's our second
nature. Of course we are going to give everything, because we already
belong to Him! We are walking dead people! We have nothing to fear!
You can't harm or kill someone who is already dead!
We shouldn't
need a cheerleader, a pep talk, or a well meaning friend to confirm,
"Yes, you should be obedient to God."
If you see someone
suffering, just go do something about it. If you see a situation
where the enemy has the upper hand, go make a difference! Bring
Heaven into that situation! It is our royal identity! The
overwhelming desire to bring justice and mercy wherever we go,
courses through our veins, because we belong to the King of Kings.
God has established his throne on righteousness and justice. It
is only natural, that like Debroah, we should ride out to battle
without being asked.
After the miraculous victory of defeating the enemy commander (read all of Judges 4 & 5 to get
the whole story!), Deborah and Barak started singing. Their voices
rang out,
"When leaders lead in Israel, when the people
willingly offer themselves, bless the Lord!" {Judges
5:2}
Deborah was willing to lead. She was willing to do hard
things. She understood her royal role as a Queen in God's Kingdom,
and so she lived out of that reality.
What about you? Are you
willing to lead? Are you willing to go to the hard places, and do
things that require boldness?
Jesus has already given us the
command to Go. Our job is the same as Deborah's. To ride out
fearlessly into battle, lifting high the banner of our King,
declaring that the victory belongs to Him! So will you war with
prayer? Will you war with your actions of kindness and your words of
love? Will you ride out and love the un-lovable? Will you share the
Gospel, comfort the hurting, and dispell the darkness?
Sister,
just like Esther, Debroah, Mary, and all of the Godly women who have
gone on before us, you have been called to the Kingdom for SUCH a
time as this! {Esther 4:14}
This is your moment. Ride on.