As I continued to contemplate on the impact of my
mother, another mother that has had a great impact on me is one found in the Scriptures.
The story of Deborah has a lot of life lessons in it.
I have found many in the Body of Christ confuse “roles”
with “leadership.”
They are very different! Anyone can be a leader – that is a heart decision, a “role” is
a stewardship God has assigned. For example; the Scripture makes it clear that
the role of the husband is to be the head of his household. So many
misinterpret that to mean that he is the boss and the only leader in the
family. That is not what that role means. The husband the one held accountable
by God for where the family is (role) but hopefully both he and his wife are
leaders. That will be a great benefit to the children. Some great leadership
principles are found in the story of Deborah.
Many people, even ones that read the Scriptures pass this story
by. Deborah does not seem that important in comparison to a “Moses"
or a “David.” However we should never underestimate
what one person can do.
Have you ever heard of Austin Gollaher? Most people
have not, yet over 200 years ago he saved a young man from drowning. That man
grew up to be the 16th president of the United States; Abraham
Lincoln!
The issue that makes this story so important, is that like in
Deborah’s
day we live in world where – “Everyman did what was right in his own
eyes!”
Deborah brings an answer to this question: What can you do when
the people in authority do not do right?
First, we see that Deborah walked with God.
The other leaders of Israel had forsaken the Lord, but she
remained faithful
Judges 4:1–5 Then
the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord, after Ehud died. And the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who
reigned in Hazor; and the commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in
Harosheth-hagoyim. The sons of Israel cried to the Lord; for he had nine hundred iron chariots, and he
oppressed the sons of Israel severely for twenty years. Now Deborah, a
prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time. She
used to sit under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill
country of Ephraim; and the sons of Israel came up to her for judgment.
Everything else flows from here! If we continue to lead where
God has called us to, no matter what else everyone else is doing we will find the
blessing of the Lord on us.
Here is a good question for all of us: Am I taking responsibility for my own walk? Only you control that,
not circumstances or even those in authority over you. A true leader keeps
their walk no matter what the world is doing.
Second, Deborah waited on God.
Judges 4:1–4 Then the sons of Israel again did evil in the
sight of the Lord, after Ehud
died. And the Lord sold them into
the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor; and the commander of
his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-hagoyim. The sons of Israel cried
to the Lord; for he had nine
hundred iron chariots, and he oppressed the sons of Israel severely for
twenty years.
Judges
5:7 “The peasantry ceased, they ceased in Israel, Until I, Deborah, arose,
Until I arose, a mother in Israel.
The oppression went on for 20 years, yet Deborah remained
faithful and waited for God’s timing. This is very hard to do, because
we humans want what we want right now. However, God’s timing is perfect,
even though we may not understand it.
It reminds me of the old tale of the battle between the
Cold Wind and the Sun. Each said they could get a coat off the man that was
walking by. The wind blew and blew, but to no avail. The man only gripped his
coat that much harder. The sun though, just shined and waited. In time…the man
became hot and removed his coat.
So many times we are not willing to pay the price it takes to
wait on God, a leader seeks God’s timing.
That gives us another good question: Am I willing to pay
the price to see God move?
Third, Deborah was working for God!
Deborah could have just said yes she would go and not try to
admonish Barak. However, as a leader she worked for God, not herself. There was
no ego involved, so she tried to warn Barak that he would lose the honor if he
insisted she go. This is a key to being a true leader, a servant’s
heart. She relayed God's message as He had led. She did not complain to Barak
that he was not obeying God, or that she had remained faithful when the other
leaders did not. She did not brag about her faith in light of Barak’s
lack of faith. She told him what God instructed her to do and even gave him
warning of his missed blessing.
A true leader does not seek there own glory, but God’s!
This leads us to another question: When I
serve the Lord am I doing this to be appreciated?
Lastly, we see after the tremendous victory Deborah gives glory
to Who it is due! She worships God!
Judges
5:1–3 Then Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam sang on that day,
saying, “That the leaders led in Israel, That
the people volunteered, Bless the Lord!
“Hear, O kings; give ear, O rulers! I—to the Lord, I will sing, I will sing praise to
the Lord, the God of Israel.
There is an important circle we need to see; as we yield to God
we will get used, which will lead us to worship Him, which will lead us to
yield even more, which will lead to being used even more…and so on! This is the “circle
of life”
the leader looks for spiritually. As we, like Deborah, live like this, it is a
delight for our Father to view and it is the most powerful visible witness to
those around us that are watching.
This leads us to one last question: Am I expressing my relationship with God in ways that He and others can
see?
