Let the Deborahs Arise

“She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms” Proverbs 31:17

Recorded in American history during World War 2 was a group of women known as W.A.S.P.s— Women Airforce Service Pilots. They were known as Wings Across America, the Fly Girls. These were ladies of wings, women who flew because of their love for flight and the love of their country.

  
Among them was a young, gallant, spirited female aviator by the name of Cornelia Fort, one of America’s first female Army pilots. In a remarkable coincidence, on December 7, 1941, Cornelia was in the air at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked. While giving instructions to one of her student pilots, she was attacked by a fighter plane with the familiar emblem of the Rising Sun. She recalled how bullets were splattering all around her and were tearing into her little plane as machine gun fire was directed toward her. This young woman was a female aviator at a time when discrimination was a barrier to female pilots, but she was among many women aviators where nothing could keep them from flying. Pearl Harbor made an impact on Cornelia Fort’s life and she began to tell other U. S. ladies that it was a time of war and the time to fight. She stated: "This is not a time when women should be patient. We are in a war and we need to fight it with all our ability and every weapon possible. We are a weapon waiting to be used."

 I was astounded by the words of this courageous young woman who realized she herself was a weapon waiting to be used against the enemy, and by her willingness and determination to fly when it was considered unladylike, and when there were many barriers for her to overcome. She felt the need to go to war against the enemy and to challenge other ladies to do likewise. Cornelia didn’t intend to be a part of Pearl Harbor, yet she became a vital part of this battle. On this day, her vision was enlarged when she found herself a part of the Pearl Harbor attack. She was in the thick of the fight and she began to feel the responsibility to protect and fight for the nation of which she was a citizen.

 

This piece of history is a lesson to us all. I thought to myself, "Why can’t the Women’s Missionary Band of The Church of God have the same mentality as this young lady?" Cornelia was feeling a commission to make a difference, just as we can, too! Women can make the difference in the work of the Lord when we realize we are a weapon against the enemy, waiting to be used of God, rising to a higher level in service for Him!

 "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds" (2 Cor. 10:4).

 The Church of God is in a war every second, every minute, every hour. We are in a spiritual battle against the gates of hell! We are in a battle as never before and we need to fight it with all of our ability and every spiritual weapon possible. Every child of God is a weapon to be used against every devil of hell, but today I am challenging our women, young and old, to get in the thick of the battle and to protect and fight for God’s holy nation of which each of us are citizens. The battle is on—rush into it! It is time to advance!

 

Once you get on the battlefield where the bullets are being fired all around you, once you see the enemy eye to eye, once you bear some battle scars, it changes who you are. When you suffer for the cause of the cross, your vision becomes clearer and brighter as you take on the mentality of a soldier. There’s a new determination in the advance of the cause you love so well, there’s a deeper experience as you have moved from the natural to the supernatural, from the ordinary to the extraordinary, from the human to the divine. You are now a powerful weapon against the enemy. You are not a coward who runs from the battlefield but now you run into the battle and proudly declare, "I will die for Her. I will suffer for Her. I will fight for Her because, I AM a SOLDIER of the CROSS! I will never retreat!" The mind set of a soldier says, "This is what I was born to do; this is my calling, my duty, my responsibility and I am ready for action."

 There was a valiant woman in the Bible who was ready for action and she wasn’t afraid to go to battle for Israel. Her name was Deborah and not only was she a warrior, she was a prophetess and a judge whose seat of judgment was under a palm tree. But even more interesting is the fact Deborah called herself the "Mother in Israel."

"And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, when Ehud was dead. And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, that reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose host was Sisera, which dwelt in Harosheth of the Gentiles. And the children of Israel cried unto the LORD: for he had nine hundred chariots of iron; and twenty years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel. And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time" (Judges 4:1-4).

 
In this passage of Scripture we read that Israel had done evil in the sight of the Lord, and therefore, the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin, the king of the Canaanites. The Scripture goes on to say that Israel cried unto the Lord for deliverance from the Canaanites, who had oppressed them mightily for 20 years. Judges in Israel were tribal leaders who in times of war acted as a rallying point to gather the tribes and organize resistance against the enemy. God heard the cry of His people and He spoke to Deborah, to rally her troops against the Canaanites. As instructed by God, Deborah gathered 10,000 of her soldiers together upon Mount Tabor, for deliverance was coming to Israel. In obedience to the Lord, Deborah called Barak, her General, and told him what the Lord had spoken to her. This is Barak’s reply to her: "And Barak said unto her, If thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go. And she said, I will surely go with thee: notwithstanding the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honour; for the LORD shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. And Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh" (Judges 4:8, 9).

From the top of Mount Tabor, Deborah looked down and saw the chariots of the Canaanites coming to pursue after the army of Israel. Deborah knew this was the time to attack. She turned to General Barak and said, "Up; for this is the day in which the LORD hath delivered Sisera into thine hand: is not the LORD gone out before thee? So Barak went down from mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him. And the LORD discomfited Sisera, and all his chariots, and all his host, with the edge of the sword before Barak..." (Judges 4:14, 15).

The Bible says that full victory was won with the defeat of the Canaanite general, Sisera, and with the slaying of Jabin, the king of Canaan. Israel prospered and prevailed for 40 years. There was a victor’s song to be sung! After twenty years of oppression by the enemy, now they had been delivered! Deborah began to sing the victory song, "I Deborah arose, that I arose a mother in Israel" (Judges 5:7).

Deborah was not only a leader of Israel, she was like a mother to them. Israel needed Deborah, they loved her and she loved them. She was their protector—when the enemy came against her young, she arose as a warrior who would fight to her death for them. Israel respected her and they knew she was a righteous woman who was God’s prophet for that day and time. She had a connection with the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God spoke through her and therefore, Israel could trust her judgment. Deborah was an encourager who convinced people they could take on extraordinary risk and succeed. When her general refused to go into battle without her, she bravely said, "I will go with you." Deborah had something inside her for God. She wasn’t afraid to take to the battlefield, for God had already told her the battle was hers. She knew she was a victor even before the fight began. She had a duty to fulfill and she felt a responsibility to God and to Israel. She was a woman who wouldn’t let Israel down, nor would she let Jehovah down.

Church of God, we need the Deborahs to arise today as mothers in Israel! We need women of distinction; women like Deborah, who protect Israel like their very own children; women who will be the perfect role model—comforters, nurturers, women who will be mouthpieces for God. We need the Deborahs who, if God says "Today you will lead the battle," they will arise and run into the battle coming forth singing the victory song: "I have arose, I have arose as a mother in Israel!"

We need some mothers in Israel who will rise up, take their place in the work of the Lord, nurture and help guide The Church of God! God needs you! There are some victories God wants to bring through you! When God says, "Go," rise up and follow Deborah’s example. Obey God even if you do not feel you have been called. Let God work through you. You are a spiritual weapon!

In the midst of your ordinary, God can do the extraordinary, equipping you to do more than you have ever done before. You may not plan to become a part of the battle, but an unexpected challenge may come from above to GO into areas you never planned to go to. It is time to recruit and to feel the necessity to challenge one another. It is a time of war and everyone is needed!

Let us carry the message across the Atlantic to the Pacific, to both new territory and to unknown territory with the message of Christ and His glorious Church. Thank God for the Women’s Missionary Band! May each heart be challenged to declare with the spirit of Deborah, "I arose, that I arose a mother in Israel!"