She loved the peacefulness of the country as she sat under the tree. As she sat in the shade of the tree, she could look for hours at the beauty that God had placed all around her. She could stare for hours at the miraculous gift He had given her and all of His people. Often He had brought her to that tree, and each time He would lead others to her. They came with the problems that each day brought to them, and she helped them settle the disputes with the advice that God lead her to speak. She took comfort in the fact that her office was not find in the midst of Jerusalem, her office would be about ten miles to the north, in the quiet of the mountains of Ephraim. Her office would be a date palm tree, where God’s wisdom could be heard under the branches of her tree.
Each day she was there, the people would come. She would see their faces, and she would hear their problems. With each word of advice, she could see their fears, and she could feel their pain. As she watched their faces each day, her prayers became stronger. And with each prayer, she found that her words to the Lord were just a little longer. For twenty years she had watched as the people had suffered, under the cruel hands of their Canaanite oppressors. She watched as they terrorized His people, as they raided their homes, and killed their sons and daughters. Each day she prayed that the Lord had not forgotten them, that He would again reach down His hand and save them.. Each day she prayed, and waited patiently for the day she would hear His answer.
As she sat under her palm tree that day, He answered to her the prayer she had so long prayed. He had led her to summon a man who would be called on to lead His people against the king of her oppressors. Today, her prayer had been answered. And under the quiet of her tree, she knew that the Lord would not be silenced.
Of all the stories I love in the Bible, Deborah is among my favorites. Her story is told in two short chapters(Judges 4-5), but in two short chapters comes such a powerful story. A story of devotion and strength. A story of obedience and patience. A story of humbleness, and a story of mercy. A story that defines the very definition of courage.
What is courage? Ask twenty people on the street and you will probably not be able to tell the difference between courage and bravery by their definitions. They will tell you that courage is standing strong when faced with pain or grief, that courage is strength when we are frightened. But when we look at how the Lord defines courage, what we see is a whole lot more.
In the Old Testament we see God define courage in many places as “determined, proven, resolute, to prevail”. In the New Testament we see the Lord continue in this definition and expand on it. Here we often see courage called “good cheer”, and the word for both translates “boldness and confidence”. God does not just describe courage as the opposite of fear, but He describes it as the very thing that causes us to not have fear. In the word “courage”, the Lord does not just describe the action, but deepens the meaning of the word by showing us the purpose behind it. Each time the Lord tells us in His Word “fear not”, He is not just telling us to not have fear, but is telling us why we should never have a reason to experience that fear. God is telling us that in His very nature, in the perfection of His plan, fear can never be found.
In trust you will never find the word fear, and in His trust only courage can be found. The Lord knows that we are far from perfect, that flaws come into our lives each day. It is for this reason, that from the first word of Genesis to the last sentence of Revelation, God tells us so many times to “fear not”. He knows that the more trust we have in Him, the more courage that will be found in each of us. One of my favorite Bible passages begins, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart”(Proverbs 3:5-6). The more we trust God, the more that courage is felt in our heart, the more that courage is seen in our actions, and the more that courage is defined in our lives. The more we put our trust in God, the more determined and embolden we are to stand on His Word. The more confident and resolute we are that His plan is the only plan that will work in our lives. And the more we lean on that trust, the more we realize that with the Lord on our side, we will always prevail!
No story in the Bible paints for us a better picture of the definition of courage than the one of Deborah. In two chapters, in a few short words, the Lord uses the life of Deborah to show us just what courage is. In Deborah, we see the trust, the determination, the resolution, the proven confidence, and the prevailing faith that God uses to define the word courage.
Deborah relied only on God. The Israelites had come under the hand of the Canaanites for one reason, and one reason only. They had turned their back on God, and placed their trust in other gods. It took twenty years for the Israelis to see that God’s discipline was not a punished to them, but a confirmation of His love for them. It showed the Israelites that their future and their trust could only be found in the Lord God, not in all the other gods that they had tried to replace Him with. But through this time in Israel’s history, Deborah remained strong, loyal in her faith. She continued to teach His Word, to follow that Word, and to remind others of that Word. In the most troublesome of times, Deborah had the courage to remain faithful to His Word, knowing that He alone was her people’s only hope.
Deborah had the faith to know His Voice. When the Lord spoke to Deborah, revealing to her his plan to restore the nation, she immediately called for Barak, the one who the Lord told her would lead his people against the Canaanites. She had the determination to stay loyal to that call, not adding one word of her own. Not looking to carry out her own vengeance or her own desires, but determined to carry out exactly what the Lord had commanded of her. Deborah had the courage to follow God’s plan, and the determination to make sure that planned was fully carried through.
Deborah trusted the will of God, allowing the Lord to work through her. As a judge in that day, Deborah had the respect of the Israeli people. They knew that she had an ear for the Lord, and they trusted the words, advice, and direction that the Lord gave them through her. Deborah could have easily decided she would lead the army against the Canaanites, and the people would have followed. But she was resolute to the will of God, knowing that for her to lead was not His will. Deborah humbly submitted to the Lord’s will, His wisdom, and His plan, knowing that only He could deliver them from the hands of their oppressors. Deborah had the courage to follow God’s will, and to ensure that His will alone was done.
Deborah gave God all the glory. In the fifth chapter of Judges, we read the beauty of the song that Deborah sang to the Lord. As we read the words, we see Deborah and Barak praise the Lord for all He,alone, did to liberate His people. In not one verse do we see either giving themselves praise or any credit for the victory, they lay every ounce of glory the victory brought right at the feet of God. Right where they knew that glory belonged. They knew that nothing they could have done would have helped them to overcome the power of the Canaanite army. They knew it would not have mattered how many men they would have sent, whether it had been ten thousand or one hundred thousand, God alone was victorious. Deborah had the proven confidence to know that with God all things are possible. And she had the prevailing faith to trust that His hand would move. Deborah had the courage to give God all the glory, and the trust to know from where that glory had come.
Deborah was nothing short of an amazing woman. A woman who had a heart for God. Although the words used to describe her life are brief, the impact she had was nothing short of incredible. Unlike all the other Judges, the Bible does not record one word of condemnation about Deborah. God’s Word only tells us about her faith, and her will to serve our Lord. Deborah used all of her abilities to serve God, to do nothing more than to bring honor and glory to His name.
As I remember the words of the song that she sang(Judges 5), it is not hard to see the courage of her faith. She knew that as the battle was about to start, it could have been only One on the field for Israel that day. It was about what God had promised, not about what man could accomplish. Deborah’s courage was nothing short of contagious, and her courage became nothing short of encouraging. With each “fear not” we read in His Word, I can see the Lord’s hand pointing back to Deborah. I can hear the courage in her voice, and I can see it defined with each step that she took. And as I read the words of her life, I can hear the Lord looking to define courage the same in each of us today.
Courage. A word that stirs us, and a word that moves us. A word that can be seen in man, but cannot be defined by man. Man may attempt to explain it, but to experience it through the Lord’s hand is the only way to fully understand it. Courage can only be defined when we make the most of the opportunities the Lord gives us. Courage is found in hearing His voice when He calls us. Courage is found in going wherever He may lead. Courage is found in the obedience to do what He says to us. Courage is found in what brings us to the Cross, and it is what leads us each day to strengthen the grip we have on that Cross. We can only become courageous when we realize that His Will is the only will that will ever matter. Courage is what brings a man to his knees, and can be defined by how long that man then stays on his knees. Courage can be found in you every time you hear His Voice, then can be seen by what you do immediately after hearing that Voice. Be strong in Christ! Be of good cheer! Be courageous!
Praying each of you live your lives courageously!
Dr. Mike Murphy