The Deborah's of Today

It was at the "Conference of Cults" in 1945, that a young couple, Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand, sat listening as one by one, various church leaders rose to express their allegiance to Hitler and his communistic party. Not a single one spoke out against the untruth of the Nazi regime. 

As the meeting continued and many other believers sat there afraid to speak up, Sabina turned to her husband and said, "Stand up and wash away this shame from the face of Christ! They are spitting in His face!" To which Richard replied, "If I do, you will lose your husband."

Her response was swift and sure. "I don't wish to have a coward as a husband." 

With that, he turned, walked up to the podium, spoke against communism, and declared Christ as Lord. As a result, some other church leaders also spoke up with courage.

I wonder how many of us as women today would have responded like Sabina in that situation. I believe the temptation to dissolve into a puddle of tears and beg Richard not to go up to the podium would have been very strong. I also wonder how Richard would have responded had Sabina become a crying mess. Would he have ignored her or taken her in his arms and missed the call of God. Sabina had the clear choice to encourage or discourage her husband, and ultimately to love herself or God. 

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    As women, one of our most important callings is to        encourage and support the men in our lives, be that 

    husbands, teenage sons, brothers, etc. My question        is, do we help them be more or less? When we      

    respond to them with negativity and fear, we pull 

    them down instead of building them up. A true 

    woman of God must be wholly surrendered and walk 

    in faith in order to build instead of destroy. If we 

    follow our selfish inclinations to maintain our own 

    safety, we can effectively dampen the impact our 

    leaders can have. 

    I have observed many women in my lifetime and have 

    seen some interesting habits. There are women who 

    take God at his word and stand behind their men 

    encouraging them to walk boldly. These faithful 

    saints effectively help their husbands and sons be all 

    that God has called them to be. Then I have observed 

    women who fret constantly and are often second-guessing their husband's ability or choices. These unfortunate men must either tune out their wife's negative tone or succumb to being manipulated into living a life that is far from the courageous one they were called to. 

I believe that it is very important that we as women train ourselves to walk in trust. If we want courageous men and leaders, it is very important that we walk in courage too. Let our voices be the ones that support men in spiritual battle and standing for truth. Let our deeds be the ones that enable them to fulfill their life's callings. Let our attitudes be the ones that remind them that they are capable with God's help. Let our surrendered hearts set them free to go wholly forward. 

We are the church of today. The battle is hot and we need warriors who will rise to the challenge. As women we have the power to encourage or discourage. We can choose to pray heaven's power down upon those we love or walk in discouraged defeat. We can choose whether to look at our difficulties or God's possibilities. 

You, my dear friend, are called. You are called to be a daughter of the Most High King. You are called to to fill the unique roll of a woman in whatever circumstance God has put you. Whether a grandmother, mother, teacher, youth girl, or auntie. You are called. ❤️ 

* Read more of Richard and Sabina's story at lifeonthealtar.com

What If You Wouldn't Be Afraid?

This morning I listened to a podcast on Anabaptist Perspectives in which John Ghanim shares his story of leaving his life as a Muslim in Yemen and becoming an all-out Jesus follower. You can listen to it here if you wish: https://open.spotify.com/episode

What is fascinating to me, is how this podcast was shared with me at this certain time. You see, I have already been thinking about fear over the last few week. To the point that, a week or so ago, I posted a sticky note on my prayer wall with the words "Break the Bondage of Fear" inscribed on it. 

Of course, when we pray prayers like that, God begins to answer. And answer He has; in multiple tiny ways. I won't forget the time that I held back from witnessing to a clearly unsaved man because I thought the person beside me should have the chance to lead out. When I got home, God clearly reprimanded me and said, "Never again do you wait for someone else to make a move. You must be willing to go first." So I died to the notion of trying to please others before my Saviour. 

And as He keeps working, I am beginning to wonder...

What if we would begin to measure our lives by His Word instead if others' opinions? What if we would dare share our thoughts and ideas for the furtherance of God's kingdom, without fearing criticism? What if we would embrace other people's new ideas with openness and humility, rather than shutting them down in fear of where the new path might lead? What if we would use the talents God has given us for His glory, instead of fearing failure and humiliation? What if we loved people so much that we would set aside any fear of persecution in order to bring them to Jesus Christ? What if we would be so convinced of God's calling on our lives, that other people's misunderstandings wouldn't hinder us? What if we would love Jesus so wholeheartedly that we would surrender our entire lives and any self-preservation to Him? 

I wonder what would happen in our lives... I wonder what would happen in our churches... I wonder what would happen to this world...

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