This article is for all the ladies out there (sorry guys!)
Did you know that March is International Women’s month?
I had the opportunity to attend a women’s conference at the beginning of the month and the entire concept has been on my mind since. Churches all over America are believing that this is the year that the women of the church rise up and I think we should all jump on board!
In Judges 4, we see two women who were chosen by God and used to bring deliverance to Israel. Deborah is the first female judge in Israel and perhaps one of the most well-known. As she was a prophet of the Lord, she knew war was coming to free the Israelites from the Canaanites. She summons a military commander by the name of Barak and tells him it’s time for war and they head into it together.
A woman, leading the armies of Israel!
Judges 4:14 tells us “Deborah said to Barak, ‘Go! This is the day the Lord has handed Sisera over to you. Hasn’t the Lord gone before you?’”
This battle was driven by a woman’s revelation, faith, and prayer. Deborah won the battle in prayer long before they stepped foot on the battlefield.
Some of your battles have already been won in prayer. We just need to rise up and take the victory. What battles are you fighting with the wrong tools? Take whatever you’re facing to the Lord and fight it in prayer. God will give you your victory.
It’s easy to miss, but if we dig into the text, we know that in verse 15, the Lord sends a violent storm to confuse the Canaanites. It was this storm that allowed the Israelites to gain the advantage and win the battle. When you are fighting your battle, your prayers move the heart of God. God will shift the atmosphere, on Earth and in Heaven, to give you the victory.
As the story progresses, the opposing army commander, Sisera, flees into the tent of a…you guessed it! A woman. Jael lulls Sisera to sleep and uses a tent peg and hammer to kill him.
She didn’t have to go and find an unfamiliar weapon. She used what she already had on hand and what she was familiar with.
What do you already have in your possession that you can use? What has God already given you that you can use as a tool to fight your battles?
Because of her tenacity and faithfulness, the Bible calls Jael “blessed among women” (5:24). Jael is the only other woman, besides Jesus’s mother Mary, to be called this.
Your faithfulness to God will elevate you to places that your own merit could never get you.
Friends, this text is a beautiful story of God using two women to turn the tides in a major moment in Israel’s history. We are not downplaying our men, but there are some battles, some prayers, some purposes that are meant solely for you and for me. There are some things in your life, or the lives of those around you, that you alone are called to minister to and overcome. Let’s take heart as God’s daughters, knowing that He has purposed us in the same way he purposes his sons. Let’s take our place as women of God to do what we are called to do in this season of what God is doing on the Earth.
Psalm 68:11 “The Lord gives the word of power. The women who bear and publish the news are a mighty army.”
Article written by guest writer Ashtyn Harry (@Ashtynharry).
