A few months back, a friend came up to me and gave me a word. She told me that the season had changed and now is the season of the ‘Deborah-anointing.’ She was referring to a lady in the Old Testament called Deborah, and there is an incredible account in the book of Judges of Deborah and how God used this woman in a leadership way to advance His Kingdom. And whilst I know the testimony of my life encourages others in similar situations, do I feel like a leader? Or do I feel that I have what it takes to be a leader? The answer is no. You can imagine my shock when my friend, a godly woman who hears from God, calls me a leader and, in fact, tells me it is time to walk boldly in the ‘Deborah-anointing’ that God has put on my life!So, I began to look at what my definition of a leader was. Firstly, I thought about what would make someone a great leader… they would be a person who loved God, who was confident and wise, who was faithful, charismatic and extroverted, and tall… go figure. But when I asked God what is a leader to Him, I heard Him say, “A leader is someone who follows Jesus.” I am an everyday girl who loves God with all my heart, who positions herself to hear from God and be in His presence and run the race He has for me. I am a passionate follower of Jesus, so I’m more than okay with that type of leadership. In light of that revelation, I read and marinated in the accounts of Deborah’s life in the Bible. I learned that she was a woman who was a prophet and a judge. She spent time in God’s presence and heard His voice and faithfully obeyed what God put on her heart to do. She had respect and credibility in her region, and men of war would follow her. What made her the great leader that she was? Well, I was delighted to discover that what made her the perfect choice for God to use, was that she was an unlikely person. Deborah was a woman in a very male-dominated world, who was just anointed by God to bring freedom and advance God’s Kingdom. But what intrigued me more than anything in Deborah’s story, is that she was not the only unlikely person God used, for there was another woman who was revealed in it, and she was an even more unlikely person for God to use. She was Jael – a housewife. She just happened to be the wife of the leader, who the enemy knew, and so the enemy came and sought refuge in her tent. That’s the extent of her training to be used… she was at home doing her normal day-to-day life. So, this unlikely hero does what she knows how to do. I mean, by no means was she qualified to kill the leader of the enemy, and, no, she had not practised the skills needed in war tactics. She was just available to be used by God! She welcomed him and gave him milk and got him to rest and when he falls asleep she puts a tent peg through his temple and kills the enemy. She used what she had in her hand – a tent peg. This is something she knew how to use! I mean, she would have moved that tent hundreds of times as she followed her husband around the battles. I love her! Not skilled in war, yet received the honour for advancing the Kingdom. God uses the unlikely person – by His power – and that’s exciting because that’s me! And, even more excitedly, that’s you! We are just everyday girls who are led by Holy Spirit, in His power, to advance His kingdom. We all have opportunities come our way, daily, to share hope with others. We all have opportunities to encourage someone and to be obedient to what God asks us to do, in His power. So, amazing, ordinary, follower of Jesus… what opportunity is God bringing along your everyday? What’s in your hand? Because that’s all you need to be an unlikely leader to advance God’s Kingdom! I pray we all rise up in the ‘Deborah-anointing!’ Just unlikely, everyday women… with a powerful God. “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him”. Philippians 2:13
