I Desire to Be Deborah

Set aside all of the oppression and armored battles that were taking place during the historical setting featured in Judges chapters 4 and 5, and you will find Deborah, a woman who literally impacted those around her. She did this by delivering a prophecy of The Lord and staying true and loyal to Him through continuing to remind Barak of God’s words and promises given to them throughout the mayhem.

Deborah was bold and courageous and chose to remain consistent with reminding Barak of God promising him victory and being with him wherever he went every step of the way. What I particularly like about Deborah is that although she was more in tune with her beliefs and trust in God than Barak was, she still supported her friend by simply being by his side in his season of doubt.

Instead of shaming him or making him feel guilty about himself, she remained a source of wisdom and support through him all throughout his journey. All the while she continued to profess who God was in their lives and continuing to make it a factor in their journey.

So many times Christians run into those people in their lives who don’t necessarily believe in God or trust what He says. These same individuals struggling continue to live their lives with fear, doubt, uncertainty, and are trigger happy with their actions. It is sometimes hard to remain on the side of those people when you are a Christian because you know God will provide yet can become discouraged yourself when those people don’t believe you or see you as a credible source of advice.

In my opinion, during the time when a non-believer in one’s life is struggling, it is the most important time to be in support of that person and stand by them while they are dealing with whatever it is that is causing their lives to be a little less light. By looking at Deborah’s example, we can learn that she did not come off as a broken record to her friend by reciting Biblical scripture and doctrine within every sentence she spoke. She wasn’t that religious nuisance in her friend’s life that instead of encouraging her actually ended up discouraging them even further in life.

Instead of supporting her friend in a religious way, instead she would simply give him simple reminders every now and then of what God had revealed along the way. It wasn’t all she knew how to speak either, she was just there for him and accompanied him the entire journey with encouragement and support.

When we as people struggle in life, it doesn’t help effectively enough when the Christians in our lives over do it with scripture and Biblical doctrine that not only convict others but also make them feel ashamed and guilty for who they are and what they have done to the point where they hate themselves or create a further separation from God or their loved ones in their lives.

Unfortunately, those religious Christians are who genuinely discourage non-believers to not want to give God or church a chance and in result end up remaining as a person who is lost and eternally separated from Him. I would be willing to bet that if the non-believers in our life who struggle received less Biblical Criticism and judgment by the people that are supposed to love them in their lives, then quite possibly they would be more open into letting go and letting God have their problems. Unfortunately, groups of Christians have gone by the masses to make sure that various groups and demographics of people on a larger scale and smaller scale in local/rural places know that they are abominations in the eyes of The Lord. Although it’s not their place, it certainly happens and because of it creates further issues.

These certain people are who our friends and loved ones avoid when they choose not to come to you in their times of need. They don’t want to hear that they are in sin; they want to hear that people are going to love them and support them through their journey no matter what happens. Giving them encouragement and reminder of what God says every now and then is one thing, it’s totally different when judgment is being implemented.

This is one reason why I love Deborah because she was not that friend to Barak. Instead she was that awesome person who stuck by his side from beginning to end. Because God said the victory would occur, she trusted Him enough to remain faithful and not worrisome in the situation. If Christians could learn to support their friends in the same way that don’t believe or are in a season of doubt in their lives, most likely there would be more success for the person in their journey.

Let us pray that we can become a Christian culture that becomes more like Deborah for our friends in their times of need. There needs to come a time where Christians strive to approach their relationships this way instead of separating themselves from the people they are supposed to love and not judge. Let us become a Christian race that does not solicit instead of support because through support and encouragement, one could really impact a person’s life for the better.