Strong and Courageous

"We don't have to carry, adopt, or raise children in order to qualify as spiritual mothers. Instead, we only need to display a willingness to use the gifts that God has entrusted to us in order to nurture others and strengthen others in their faith. "

~ Anonymous 

I recently read the story of Jael and Deborah in the Judges 4-5. I've never head of Jael before. When Deborah served as a judge for the national of Israel, a group of Israelites tried to rebel against the nation and take over. The leader of this group was a man named Sisera. Deborah told another man named Barak that the Lord had ordered him to pursue Sisera, but Barak wouldn't go without Deborah, so she went. She told Barak, however, because she was going that he would not get the honor over stopping the rebellion, but that the Lord would hand Sisera over to a woman. Meanwhile, as Sisera fled he came to the tent of a woman named Jael. Jael knew that her husband was a member of the group causing the rebellion, because Sisera had come their to seek shelter. While he was in her home, she killed him because she knew he was causing rebellion against the Lord.


In a moment Jael, had to make a decision, would she side with her husband who was in sin rebelling against the Lord, or would she obey God and not provide shelter and safety to Sisera. In Judges 5, we read Deborah's, song, in which she gives praise to Jael saying that she is blessed among women for her decision. Judges 5 ends with saying that they had peace for forty years.


Judges 4-5 gives us a glimpse of two women who acted courageously and helped save the nation of Israel from destruction by enemies from within. There is much to be learned from Jael and Deborah, as women we are called to be courageous just like they were. These women used the gifts God blessed them with to fight their battles and to stand for their beliefs. Our society today needs women that will stand for what is right, that will fight for lost souls, and that will minister to those that are hurting.


Elisabeth Elliot is a modern example of  a courageous woman. Ms. Elliot lost her husband Jim while he was on mission to South America. Jim and four other men had flown to a village in South America to minister to a tribe that had never heard the name of Jesus. This tribe was known for the violence against "outsiders." Jim and his companions had contact with members of the tribe before, but when the came to set up the mission, they were attacked and killed. It is not known why the natives decided to kill these men. Later Elisabeth Elliot and the other widows of the men that were killed traveled to the very same village to minister to the men who had killed their husbands. There are stories of how she ministered to the very men that killed her husband and how these men and their families came to know Jesus. Elisabeth Elliot teaches that through dark times and trials God is still glorified. She choose to forgive and minister to those who took her husband from her leaving her a widow and a single mom. She ministered to the women of the Auca Indian Tribe. Now this particular tribe in South America is no longer a tribe that has never heard the name of Jesus, but a tribe that not only knows, but loves Jesus. 

“I have one desire now - to live a life of reckless abandon for the Lord, putting all my energy and strength into it.” 

~ Elisabeth Elliot

God calls us as women to be ministers of his gospel in many of the same ways that Elisabeth Elliot ministered to the Auca Tribe. I was recently reading in a commentary in my bible that talked about spiritual motherhood. In this commentary over Deborah it talked about how we don't have to be earthly mothers to be spiritual mothers. You see God has made women to be nurturing, caregivers, who compassionately love those around us. Not that being a nurturing care-give is a bad thing, in fact I believe that is part of what God calls us as women to be, but that is not the end all be all of his purpose in our lives. You see Elisabeth Elliot didn't just sit to the side passively being a quiet woman. She boldly shared the gospel with those who needed to hear it the most. In the 1950's it wasn't proper for a single woman to travel like she did. She was told to stay in the states and minister to those here. She decided to act on faith in God and fight for the lost souls of the men and women of the Auca tribe. We need more Christian women that will rise up and take a stand. We need women like Deborah that will be brave, even when the men around them refuse. We need to be women of courage that fight for families, our friends, and those that we don't know to Christ come to the knowledge of saving grace in Christ Jesus. Women, God has created you to be strong, to be courageous, and to stand for what is right. God wants us to minister and mentor those women who are younger than us. It is  through our example as Christian women that the young Christian girls will grow to be strong Christian women. We need to seek out mentors, strong Christian women who are actively fighting for lost souls everyday, women who are courageous and not afraid to use the gifts God has given them. We need women who are not afraid to act in faith even when no one else will.

“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose." 

~ Jim Elliot

“The will of God is not something you add to your life. It’s a course you choose. You either line yourself up with the Son of God…or you capitulate to the principle which governs the rest of the world.”
~ Elisabeth Elliot

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Joshua 1:9

In Search of Shalom

‎"to promote life not death, health not sickness, to suffer and counsel with those who suffer, to care compassionately when one cannot cure, to be a part of God's presence in the valley of the shadow of death, in short to search for shalom" 

Hessel Bouma III

I first read this quote as a freshmen at OBU. We read a book called on Moral Medicine in our Biology Colloquium class. This book was a collection of essays dealing with various aspects of ethical issues we face in medicine. I don't remember a lot about this particular article, but I remember this quote. When I read this quote I thought it symbolized the reasons I wanted to become a doctor. This quote continues to remind me of why I have chosen this profession. I had an extremely rough day yesterday. We had a young child come into the ER severely injured and we had to life flight him out. Yesterday this quote came to mind as I was thinking about the events of yesterday afternoon and evening. As the boy was wheeled out I was able to put my arms around the boy's arm and try and comfort her. Today we found out that this boy was miraculously alive. Through yesterday's sadness and other events this week I am reminded of the opportunity I have to minister to my patients and their families.    

As Christians we are called to live of lives like this as well. We are to be God's hands and feet. We need to find ways to minister to our friends, family and co-workers who are struggling. We need to promote life, Life through Christ. We are called to weep with our brothers and sisters when they are struggling. Nothing ministers more to people that a Christian who knows, hope and life coming alongside of someone who is suffering. 

Traditionally Shalom is thought to mean peace, while it does mean peace it means much more than that. Shalom comes front he verb, shalom which means, complete, perfect, and full. It also is related to the Hebrew word, Shelem, which means to pay for and Shulam which means fully paid. As Christians, our sin has been paid in full by the blood of Christ. The bible tells us that God gives us peace that surpasses all understanding. I challenge you today to search for Shalom in your life and in the lives of other people. The peace that we are given as Christians makes us complete, fully and lacking in nothing.