War
burns as a charcoal haze, a bundle of embers flickering where the kingdom melts
to horizon. Your fur cloak, white as Michelangelo marble, is replaced with
plated metal. You trade your scepter for a sword, your throne for a chariot. The
calling to battle is rich, anointed and promised. You will charge into the fire
out of obedience to the King, fight for the people He has placed under your
leadership. To forgo the task would result in destruction, so you push away
your fear and submit yourself to whatever occurs at the front.
Beauty
once drew their attention but now it has transformed into a radiant strength
that surpasses eyes and reaches deep into hearts, divine in origin, holy in
mission.
There
has come a time in each of our lives when we’ve had to trade our flower crowns
for ones made of metal, forged from heat and sweat, given out of necessity, not
vanity. We’ve experienced painful seasons when what seems pretty around us
carries the weight of a battlefield. We may look put together like queens but
at the center of our innermost being, we are survivors, warriors and royals
riding our horses into already-won battles. We are God-authored to be heroines
in His victorious saga, but have we accepted the role, been rebuilt by the
divine authority entrusted to us as daughters of the Most High God?
Heroines,
in literature, are characters who accomplish incredible feats despite
impossible odds. They sacrifice their own interests to attain a goal greater
than themselves. Their motivation stems from mission, purpose, vision for
self, others and the world.
God-authored heroines are women of
vision.
Throughout
the Bible is evidence of God’s relationship with His girls. He handpicked women
from insignificant backgrounds and used them in world-changing ways. Not
glamorous. Not sugar-coated and dipped in petals. Hard, taxing ways that made
history.
We,
as handpicked protagonists, have the same potential and God-strength as Esther,
Ruth, Mary and the other countless women who were used in the story of
Christianity. Time does not sever us from saga-impacting roles—time is
irrelevant and unbinding to the God who created it. We are our generation’s heroines.
Judges
4-5 introduces girl-boss heroine Deborah, leader of the Israelite people, a
prophetess and wife. Deborah had a deep relationship with God that yielded
strength, insight and vision. She was faithful to her calling, recognized the
strength of others but remained steadfast in God-ordained authority and sanctification.
Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was
leading Israel at that time. She held court under the Palm of Deborah between
Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites came to her
to have their disputes decided. She sent for Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh
in Naphtali and said to him; “The Lord, the God of Israel, commands you: ‘Go,
take with you ten thousand men of Naphtali and Zebulun and lead the way to
Mount Tabor. I will lure Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, with his
chariots and his troops to the Kishon River and give him into your hands.’”
Barak said to her, “If you go with me, I will go; but
if you don’t go with me, I won’t go.”
“Very well,” Deborah said, “I will go with you. But
because of the way you are going about this, the honor will not be yours, for
the Lord will hand Sisera over to a woman.” So Deborah went with Barak to
Kedesh.
Judges 4:4-6
Three things to note . . .
1.
God gave Deborah a vision for the
Israelite nation.
2.
Because of the vision, Deborah was a
steward of God’s plan for others.
3.
Deborah did not leave Barak to tackle his
God-given mission alone, rather she went with him into battle to share the weight
of such a task.
God-authored heroines . . .
-
Are fueled by futuristic calling, accept leadership
and point others to their God-authored visions.
-
Recognize God’s presence in the visions of
others.
-
Magnify the callings of others.
-
Heroines see through the worldly shroud of
sin and bear witness to God’s will for the future.
God’s
daughters have melted under stereotypes, expectations, fears and insecurities
for too long. They have denied their swords and crowns, instead retreating to
their small, safe dreams. Heroines take their swords to already won battles and
suffer through trials with supernatural endurance. They also join others in
their suffering so as to keep unified the Kingdom of God.
What is vision? How do we get it?
-
Visions are God-sized, God-given dreams
powered by purposeful calling.
-
To have vision is to have vision for self,
vision for others and the world.
-
Visions are not products of tenacity,
rather weapons gifted to us by the King of Kings. As children of God, we have
visionary birthrights, positions of ordained leadership bought for us through
salvation. If we take ownership of the power offered to us, we step into a
place of sacred closeness with God and the visions handed to us like swords
become our drive, our struggle and His victory.
-
Vision isn’t a quiet, gentle gift. It
roars like a lion. It rattles its cage, aching to break free.
-
Vision leads.
Takeaway: Women with holy vision are
women equipped with the power of God.
We
are not flawless. We have been broken, pieced together and scarred in battle.
Our lives are not aesthetic scrapbooks uploaded on social media sites, rather
charred battlegrounds and reconstructed fortresses. In the eyes of others, we
appear pretty and soft, but our Creator has designed us to carry vision,
leadership and care for others.
What
are the visions God has placed on your life? What’s stopping you from charging
into battle with faithful endurance and royal confidence?
She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can
laugh at the days to come. She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is
on her tongue. […] “Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.”
Proverbs 31: 25-26, 29
Heroines,
let’s forgo our scepters, pick up our swords and step into the
history-changing, generation-defining roles prepared for us by the Author of
All.
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