photo by Eradio Valverde. Painting by Jason Rodriguez of Corpus Christi.
The Prophetess Deborah From Judges 4:1-7 we find these words: The Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, after Ehud died. So the Lord sold them into the hand of King Jabin of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor; the commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-ha-goiim. Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord for help; for he had nine hundred chariots of iron, and had oppressed the Israelites cruelly twenty years. At that time Deborah, a prophetess, wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel. She used to sit under the palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim; and the Israelites came up to her for judgment. She sent and summoned Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali, and said to him, "The Lord, the God of Israel, commands you, "Go, take position at Mount Tabor, bringing ten thousand from the tribe of Naphtali and the tribe of Zebulun. I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin's army, to meet you by the Wadi Kishon with his chariots and his troops; and I will give him into your hand.' "
The Concert for Valor was held last night in Washington, DC, to honor Veterans and to raise money to assist those in need. Top name musical acts and celebrities from other art forms were on hand to honor our warriors. Video clips introduced some heroes that were present on stage. One such clip featured one of the first female combat officer. The first words from her were, "I am five feet tall; so I don't consider myself an officer who can be looked up to..." but her valor and leadership gained her the respect of her troops, proving herself three days into combat.
The Bible introduces us to a woman of faith, valor and leadership; Deborah. She is the fourth judge of Israel, and the only female judge ever to serve in pre-monarchic Israel. She was married to Lappidoth. She had great faith for God and as prophet, spoke for God. God used her to answer a great cry for help from Israel, after they had done "again...what was evil in the sight of the Lord." Their unfaithfulness and wickedness led them to be "sold...into the hand of King Jabin of Canaan," a cruel oppressor of Israel. God speaks to Deborah the answer they are seeking and it will involve a military campaign.
God answers all prayers. Sometimes the answer is no, other times, not yet. But these are answers. Sometimes the answer involves work on our part, assisted at times by the wisdom of those in tune with God, who understand our situation and guide us to next steps or even first steps towards that prayer being answered. The photograph above features Melanie, a young woman from our church in Port Lavaca, Texas. She was the only child who spoke during our Witness part of our charge conference there, sharing "My hope for the church is..." She is standing beside the painting our worship painter shared during the worship hour, which he entitled, after being inspired at earlier charge conferences by children and youth, "My Hope For The Church Is..." These children and youth are part of our hope for the Church, and we know they are, and will, work hard to answer our prayers for the future of His work on earth.
What is God calling you to do?
PRAYER: God, please grant us the faith and strength of Deborah in all facets of our spiritual life. Help us to have courage and boldness, like her, to face the enemies of doubt, discouragement, indifference, apathy, and evil. We know we are more than conquerors in all things because of You. And it is in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior that we pray. Amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
